Kings Produce Processing

Mmm. Fresh fruit and veggies. A crisp stalk of celery. A plump, red strawberry. A lush deep green broccoli floret.

There’s nothing better than opening the refrigerator door to reveal a bounty of nature’s finest, fresh from the grocery store.

Hold that thought.

Before you get the warm and fuzzies, consider this: that celery stalk was cut in California a week ago, traveled in a truck over great distances, through customs as it crossed the border, and the retail distribution system before it found its way into your fridge.

Perhaps it’s not as fresh as you first thought…

Lucky for us, there are better options.

Kings Processing, located in the Annapolis Valley, processes a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, and that’s not all.

Kings Processing specializes in fresh cut produce (like broccoli, cabbage, potato and celery), vegetable trays, fruit trays, salads (like their acclaimed potato salad and coleslaw) and sandwich spreads (like egg, tuna and salmon). The company sells its products to food service distributors and retailers throughout Nova Scotia, Atlantic Canada, and beyond.

The end users are grocery consumers like you and me, not to mention restaurants, schools, hospitals, prisons and military bases. The company's fresh cut produce is marketed as Garden Express and wet salad products are sold as McKenzies.

Kings Processing has some fierce competition, especially from corporate giants in the south who have a longer growing season, but the company feels it has a leg-up nonetheless.

“Our advantage is that we can supply our product as fresh as possible because we’re located in the same marketplace as our buyers,” explains Jeremy Hunter, plant manager of Kings Processing. “Because we’re located here, we supply local produce as often as possible.

“When we have to purchase our product from abroad, it is still a fresher one,” explains Hunter. “When fruits and vegetables are cut, so too is their shelf life. Whereas many of the fruits and vegetables at the grocery store are cut elsewhere (for example, California) and then shipped, ours are shipped first and then we cut them upon arrival.

“So our product is much fresher,” he explains.

Even though Kings Processing is a local producer, the business is not restricted by Nova Scotia’s sub-tropical winter months.

“Whether through locally grown products or locally processed products, we’re able to provide the people of Nova Scotia, as well as our customers in the rest of Canada, with fresh-cut fruits and vegetables all 12 months of the year,” Hunter says.

Local products, local service.

The buy-local trend is one that has been gaining status quickly. And it makes sense.

Buying local is a concept that calls for consumers to purchase food that is produced or grown as close to home as possible. The benefits are twofold. The first is simple: buying local ensures a crisper, fresher product. The second is for the greater good: buying local supports Nova Scotia’s economy and helps to build a sustainable food system.

So, King’s Processing reaches out to its fellow Nova Scotians to support its business and their shared economy.

But local buyers are not the only customers to which Kings Processing caters.

“Our product is used in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Ontario,” says Hunter. “And we’re always looking to expand.

“No matter where the buyer is located, they can count on a fresh product regardless of what time of year,” he adds.

With an abundance of high quality products, it’s a good thing King’s Processing is able to sell products locally and abroad. The company produces so much fresh fruit and vegetables in fact, that it relies on exporting to other places in addition to selling to local purchasers.

“We rely on shipping our product outside of the province in order to support the business,” Hunter explains. “Our growth wouldn’t be as substantial without our food service distributors and retailers throughout Canada, in addition to those in Atlantic Canada, Nova Scotia and our home turf in the Valley.”

Whatever the case – whether sold here or abroad – Kings Processing ensures impeccable service and the freshest produce possible.

High quality product, high quality service

High quality is a concept Kings Processing believes in thoroughly, and one that shakes the core of their business. The company doesn’t just focus on high quality in its products and service; it’s also focused on bringing that emphasis to Nova Scotia’s economy and to the lives of its employees.

Kings Processing is a local company, owned by local farmers, that employs local people and uses as much local raw material as possible. Great for local business.

It’s also one of the largest employers in Middleton and has been recognized as an inclusive employer. Great for local employees.

With such an impressive service offering and employee program, it’s no wonder the business has been around a long time.

The business began in the 1960s as McKenzie’s Salads, with a few tasty salad recipes and a coinciding demand for prepared salads.

King’s Processing has been going strong in Middleton ever since, and in 2002 the company moved into a new state-of-the-art food processing facility.

And things aren’t slowing down just yet.

“Our intention is to grow,” explains Hunter. “And we’re doing just that.”

The company is hiring new staff, it’s securing new buyers in Nova Scotia and throughout the rest of Canada, and all the while, it’s showcasing the value of Nova Scotia’s home-grown products on local and national fronts and injecting financial goodness into Nova Scotia’s economy.

More importantly, Kings Processing is putting the freshest fruits and vegetables and the most delicious salads and sandwiches on dinner plates – injecting happiness and healthiness into the lives of satisfied end users – throughout Nova Scotia and all across Canada.