Sun-Maid
A farmer-owned California cooperative and heritage snack brand best known for raisins, dried fruit, and its iconic Sun-Maid Girl packaging.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Sun-Maid is the consumer brand of Sun-Maid Growers of California, a farmer-owned agricultural cooperative headquartered in Fresno. The organization was established in 1912 by California raisin growers seeking greater scale and market access for fruit cultivated in the Central Valley. Rather than operating as a conventional public food company, Sun-Maid is owned by the growers who supply its principal raw material, giving the business a close connection to farming, crop quality, processing, and agricultural economics. The brand developed around California’s naturally sun-dried raisin industry. Grapes grown in the Central Valley are harvested and dried, then processed into consumer packages or supplied as ingredients for food manufacturers. Sun-Maid’s core range has traditionally included seedless raisins in multiple package formats, while the broader portfolio has expanded into dried fruit, fruit snacks, raisin-based combinations, and other family-oriented snack products. The company has also used its expertise in whole-fruit processing to move beyond the traditional small red raisin box. Sun-Maid’s most recognizable asset is the Sun-Maid Girl: a woman wearing a red bonnet and carrying a tray of grapes. The image, together with the red package, has made the brand strongly associated with childhood lunchboxes, baking, breakfast, and portable snacking. Its heritage positioning is reinforced by the brand’s long history and by the cooperative model behind it, while its contemporary marketing has emphasized whole fruit, convenience, reduced reliance on added sugar, and better-for-you family snacks. During the 2010s, Sun-Maid acknowledged that raisins had become associated with older consumers and nostalgia rather than with younger families. The company responded with a renewed advertising effort, refreshed packaging, new fruit-snack products, and campaigns intended to reconnect the brand with millennials, parents, and children. Product development included Sun-Maid Bites, clusters combining whole fruit with ingredients such as oats and nuts, as well as dried-fruit varieties including watermelon, strawberry, grape, and mixed berry. In 2021, Sun-Maid expanded its business through the acquisition of Plum Organics from Campbell Soup Company. Plum brought organic baby food and children’s snack products into the cooperative’s portfolio and represented a strategic move into adjacent family and early-childhood categories. The transaction was described as Sun-Maid’s first business acquisition in its 109-year history. It broadened the company’s scope while retaining a focus on products marketed as nutritious, convenient, and suitable for families. Sun-Maid’s marketing has also turned a longstanding cultural joke into a deliberate source of engagement. Raisins have often been portrayed as an unpopular Halloween treat, and the brand’s Halloween activations embraced that reputation through humorous experiential work involving raisin-themed scares and candy substitutions. This approach allowed Sun-Maid to participate in a conversation where a conventional health-and-nutrition message might have been ignored. The brand continues to operate primarily in the United States, with California growers and processing at the center of its identity, while its products and ingredients also serve broader food channels. During the 2010s, Sun-Maid acknowledged that raisins had become associated with older consumers and nostalgia rather than with younger families. The company responded with a renewed advertising effort, refreshed packaging, new fruit-snack products, and campaigns intended to reconnect the brand with millennials, parents, and children. Product development included Sun-Maid Bites and expanded dried-fruit snacks, while the 2021 acquisition of Plum Organics extended the brand into organic baby food and children’s snacks. In Chinese-language markets the brand is known as 阳光少女 (SUN·MAID).
History
Sun-Maid emerged from California’s expanding raisin industry, which developed after growers established vineyards in and around Fresno and learned that grapes could be preserved through sun drying. By the early twentieth century, California had become a major raisin-producing region. Growers faced the practical challenge of marketing a crop produced by many independent farms, encouraging cooperation and collective processing. In 1912, raisin growers formed the organization that became Sun-Maid Growers of California. The cooperative consolidated processing, packaging, and marketing functions while allowing family farmers to retain ownership. Its geographic center was the Central Valley, where hot, dry conditions supported raisin production. Over time, the cooperative became one of the largest raisin and dried-fruit processors, handling fruit for branded retail products as well as ingredients sold to other food companies. Sun-Maid’s consumer identity was built around a red package and the image now known as the Sun-Maid Girl. The character’s bonnet, grapes, and warm visual style made the product easy to recognize and helped establish raisins as a familiar household snack. The brand became associated with children’s lunchboxes, home baking, breakfast cereals, trail mixes, and simple portable eating. Its visual continuity gave Sun-Maid a durable heritage position even as packaging and advertising changed. The business remained closely tied to its grower base. The cooperative has been described as comprising approximately 850 family farmers, primarily cultivating raisin grapes within roughly 100 miles of the processing plant, while also sourcing dried fruit from outside that area. Its operations therefore combine agricultural supply, drying and processing, packaging, branded marketing, and ingredient sales. Public descriptions have identified annual raisin production above 200 million pounds, but this dossier does not treat that figure as a current financial or operating forecast. In the late 2010s, Sun-Maid sought to address an aging consumer profile and the perception that raisins were more nostalgic than contemporary. Under Harry Overly, who became president and CEO in 2018, the company returned to national advertising after a long gap. The “Grow Young” campaign used childhood memories to reconnect older consumers with the brand while presenting Sun-Maid to younger parents. New products broadened the proposition from conventional raisins to fruit snacks, including sugar-free dried-fruit variants and Sun-Maid Bites. The company subsequently refreshed packaging and emphasized attributes such as whole fruit, no added sugar in relevant products, and non-GMO verification where applicable. Its “Imagine That” campaign presented imagination as both a brand value and a product-development principle. The initiative included a Board of Imagination involving children and an employee holiday intended to encourage creativity. Sun-Maid also diversified beyond its historic raisin base. In 2021 it acquired Plum Organics from Campbell Soup Company. Plum, founded in 2007 and acquired by Campbell in 2013, gave Sun-Maid an established position in organic baby food and children’s snacks. The deal was reported as Sun-Maid’s first acquisition in 109 years and reflected a strategy of expanding into family-oriented, better-for-you categories. More recent brand activity has used humor and cultural participation to make raisins relevant in settings where they are traditionally unpopular. Halloween campaigns openly referenced the joke that raisins are frightening or disappointing trick-or-treat offerings, turning that weakness into an entertaining activation. Sun-Maid remains an active private cooperative brand centered on raisins and dried fruit, with a broader portfolio reaching family snacking and children’s nutrition. In Chinese-language markets the brand is known as 阳光少女 (SUN·MAID).
- 2024
Leadership transition reported
[7]Industry coverage reports Stephen Loftus as Sun-Maid’s president and CEO.
- 2021
Plum Organics acquisition
[2]Sun-Maid acquires Plum Organics from Campbell Soup Company, expanding into organic baby food and children’s snacks.
- 2020
Packaging and back-to-school refresh
[5]The brand introduces a refreshed visual and marketing approach while promoting family snack formats during the changing back-to-school environment.
- 2019
Return to major advertising
[6]Sun-Maid launches the “Grow Young” campaign and promotes new dried-fruit products after more than a decade without a comparable national advertising push.
- 2018
Harry Overly becomes chief executive
[6]Harry Overly is identified as Sun-Maid’s president and CEO as the cooperative begins a renewed growth and marketing effort.
- 1912
Growers establish the cooperative
[1]California raisin growers establish the organization that became Sun-Maid Growers of California.
Products and positioning
A trusted, nostalgic family snack brand combining California grower heritage with whole-fruit nutrition, convenience, and product innovation.
Raisins
Sun-Maid Raisins
The core Sun-Maid line consists of raisins in consumer packages and formats used for snacking, lunchboxes, baking, breakfast, and ingredient applications. The range is anchored by the familiar red packaging and Sun-Maid Girl identity, with pack sizes and preparations designed for household and portable consumption.
Fruit-based snack clusters · 2020
Sun-Maid Bites
Sun-Maid Bites are snack clusters built from whole fruit and additional ingredients such as oats and nuts. Reported flavor varieties included peanut butter and jelly, birthday cake, s’mores, and banana split. The product was promoted as a convenient multi-serve family snack.
Dried fruit · 2019
Sun-Maid Dried Fruit Snacks
Beyond traditional raisins, Sun-Maid has marketed dried-fruit products using fruit varieties such as watermelon, mixed berry, strawberry, and grape. These products support the brand’s effort to present dried fruit as a contemporary, naturally sweet snack for parents and children.
Organic baby food and children’s snacks · 2007
Plum Organics
Plum Organics is an organic baby-food and kids-snack brand acquired from Campbell Soup Company in 2021. Its portfolio includes foods for babies, toddlers, and children and extends Sun-Maid’s family-snacking proposition into early-childhood nutrition.
Marketing campaigns
- 2022Sun-Maid Halloween activations
United States
Sun-Maid continued its Halloween strategy with holiday activations that acknowledged the brand’s reputation as a less-desired trick-or-treat offering rather than presenting raisins only as a health alternative.
Outcome. The approach was reported as helping the brand gain traction in a category conversation where raisins had traditionally been the subject of ridicule.
- 2021Imagine That
United States
The platform framed imagination as a driver of product innovation and family life. It included the creation of a Board of Imagination with child participants and the planned Imagination Day employee holiday.
Outcome. The campaign gave Sun-Maid a broader innovation narrative beyond heritage raisins and connected the brand with children’s creativity.
- 2021Raisin Zombies and Spirit of Halloweentown
United States
Sun-Maid and agency Quench embraced the running joke that raisins are an unwanted Halloween treat. Raisin-themed performers appeared in St. Helens, Oregon, while the activation playfully replaced or reframed candy during the town’s Halloween festivities.
Outcome. The work converted a negative seasonal association into humor, experiential attention, and social-media participation.
- 2020Childhood is always in session
United States
Sun-Maid addressed back-to-school shopping during the pandemic by presenting snacks as part of children’s changing daily routines, whether learning took place at home or in classrooms.
Outcome. The campaign supported multipack promotion and highlighted Sun-Maid Bites and whole-fruit positioning.
- 2019Grow Young
United States
A national campaign used childhood memories and nostalgia to reconnect Sun-Maid with older consumers while introducing the brand to younger parents. It accompanied renewed advertising, digital and social activity, retail activation, and new dried-fruit products.
Outcome. The campaign marked Sun-Maid’s return to substantial advertising after more than a decade and supported a broader repositioning around contemporary family snacking.
Brand decisions
2021
Acquire Plum OrganicsM&ABackground
Sun-Maid sought to diversify its portfolio while remaining focused on whole-fruit, family, and better-for-you food categories.
Action taken
Sun-Maid Growers of California agreed to acquire Plum Organics from Campbell Soup Company.
Aftermath
The deal expanded Sun-Maid into organic baby food and children’s snacks and was described as its first acquisition in 109 years. Financial terms were not disclosed.
2021
Make imagination an operating and marketing themeStrategyBackground
The company wanted to connect innovation, children’s creativity, and its purpose of helping families find appealing better-for-you snacks.
Action taken
Sun-Maid launched Imagine That, established a Board of Imagination, and announced an employee Imagination Day.
Aftermath
The initiative broadened the brand narrative from raisin heritage toward creativity and product development.
2019
Reinvest in national brand marketingStrategyBackground
Sun-Maid recognized that its buyer base skewed older and that the brand had lost contact with children and parents during a prolonged period of limited advertising.
Action taken
The company returned to major advertising with the “Grow Young” platform and expanded digital, social, retail, and public-relations activity.
Aftermath
Sun-Maid paired the campaign with packaging changes and new dried-fruit products aimed at more contemporary family-snacking occasions.
Recent events
- 2024
Sun-Maid announces new top leadership[7]
Leadership change
Industry coverage reported a change in Sun-Maid’s top leadership and identified Stephen Loftus as president and chief executive officer.
- 2023
Sun-Maid refreshes its brand identity and packaging[9]
Other
Sun-Maid introduced a refreshed visual identity and updated packaging intended to modernize the heritage brand while preserving the Sun-Maid Girl and its agricultural associations.
- 2022
Sun-Maid turns its Halloween reputation into a marketing asset[4]
Campaign · Other
The brand used humorous Halloween activations, including raisin-themed scares and connections to Halloweentown, to embrace rather than deny the perception that raisins are an unwelcome Halloween treat.
- 2021
Sun-Maid introduces the Imagine That platform and Board of Imagination[3]
Campaign
The brand linked product innovation with imagination, announced a child-focused advisory board, and planned an employee Imagination Day.
- 2021
Sun-Maid acquires Plum Organics from Campbell Soup Company[2]
M&A
Sun-Maid announced the acquisition of the organic baby-food and children’s-snack brand Plum Organics. Financial terms were not disclosed.
- 2020
Sun-Maid launches renewed back-to-school marketing and snack formats[5]
Campaign · Product launch
Sun-Maid promoted family multipacks and Sun-Maid Bites during the pandemic-era back-to-school season under the message “Childhood is always in session.”
Sun-Maid expands dried-fruit and snack formats[10]
Product launch
The cooperative has continued to market raisins alongside other dried-fruit and snack formats, including products aimed at lunchboxes, baking, and on-the-go consumption.
Sources10 sources
- 1Sun-Maiden.wikipedia.org
- 2Sun-Maid Growers of California Acquires Plum Organics From Campbell Soup Companythecampbellscompany.com
- 3Sun-Maid Feeds Imagination in New Brand Campaignprnewswire.com
- 4How Sun-Maid Turned Its Scary Halloween Reputation Into an Unexpectedly Sweet Strategyadweek.com
- 5Sun-Maid Raisins Ramps Up for Back-to-School Seasonfoodnavigator-usa.com
- 6How Sun-Maid Is Back in the Spotlight After a Decade in the Darkchiefmarketer.com
- 7Leadership transition reportedowler.com
- 8Raisin Zombies and Spirit of Halloweentownadsoftheworld.com
- 9Sun-Maid refreshes its brand identity and packagingsunmaid.com
- 10Sun-Maid expands dried-fruit and snack formatssunmaid.com
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