Jealous Fruits in British Columbia: History, What It Grows, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Jealous Fruits is a family-owned cherry producer in British Columbia's Okanagan and Thompson regions that Kelowna media have called Canada's cherry king. Local reporting puts its producing area at about 900 acres with 270 more in development, and a Global Affairs Canada profile describes a family business that exports cherries to Asia and the United States.
| Location | Okanagan Valley (Lake Country and Kelowna) and Pritchard near Kamloops, British Columbia |
|---|---|
| Founded | Orchard business started by David Geen in 1980; cherries from 1990 (as reported) |
| Sectors | sweet cherries; some apples and peaches |
| Scale | About 900 producing acres plus 270 in development (KelownaNow); Thompson Farm has 275 acres of cherries (Infonews) |
| Why it is elite | Largest-profile cherry grower in Canada per regional reporting; exporter profiled by Global Affairs Canada |
| Ownership | Family-owned and operated by the Geen family |
| Official website | Global Affairs Canada profile of Jealous Fruits (no official site URL found in sources) |
History of Jealous Fruits
KelownaNow reports that David Geen, a fourth-generation Okanagan orchardist, entered the industry in 1980 as an apple grower. In 1990 he bought an orchard at Carr's Landing and built a cherry business around late-ripening varieties. The Sweetheart cherry, which came out of a research plot at the Summerland research station, was central to that strategy. The company was formerly known as Coral Beach Farms.
Global Affairs Canada notes that Geen's grandfather and great-uncle ran a small cherry business in the 1940s, selling from a fruit stand. Today the Geen family operates the business, with David, his wife Laura and sons Eric and Alexander involved according to KelownaNow.
What Jealous Fruits Grows and Raises
Late ripening is the strategy. Geen has called late-season varieties a game changer, because they put British Columbia fruit on the market after many other regions have finished. The company has also expanded north: Infonews describes Thompson Farm at Pritchard near Kamloops as a 275-acre cherry orchard, with some apples and peaches, owned by Jealous Fruits.
Fruit is packed at a sorting and packing facility. Global Affairs Canada describes a 30,000 square-foot sorting and packing facility, and KelownaNow reports a newer packinghouse, retail store and headquarters off Highway 97 where Kelowna meets Lake Country. The government profile describes about 840 acres and roughly 400,000 trees at the time of its 2019 story.
How Jealous Fruits Makes Money
Fresh cherry sales
Cherries are sold across Canada and exported mainly to the United States, China and Hong Kong according to KelownaNow. Global Affairs Canada adds Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia to its list of export markets.
Export market development
Geen describes targeting undersupplied markets around the world, and the profile credits trade agreements such as the CPTPP with easing access to member countries.
Retail and packing
The headquarters includes a retail store next to the packinghouse, giving the company a local sales outlet alongside wholesale and export channels.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Jealous Fruits
Shift the harvest window. By choosing late-ripening cherries, Jealous Fruits aims for a time when supply is thin, which supports price and market access. Growers of any crop can look for the variety or practice that moves their harvest to a less crowded week.
Control the packing step. Owning the packinghouse allows quality control and direct export relationships, rather than relying on others to market fruit. Trade agreements matter here, so growers should track tariff schedules for their target countries.
A cherry orchard planted on late-ripening varieties is a business plan that depends on patience, and few crops reward that as well as a Sweetheart picked well after the neighbours have finished. If waiting for fruit makes you want some farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor or farm jokes about tree growers staring at the sky, try farm.FM. The Geen family treats the harvest calendar as the serious craft it is.
The outlet behind those laughs, farm.FM, is the nation's first satirical farm site, complete with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers. A farm.FM humorist's archive shows what a week of it looks like.
How to Contact Jealous Fruits
Website: https://international.gc.ca/world-monde/stories-histoires/2019/CPTPP-jealous-fruits.aspx?lang=eng
No official-site address, phone or email was verified in the sources reviewed. Orchards and the packinghouse are working sites, so confirm any visit before traveling. Details checked November 2026.
Jealous Fruits Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Global Affairs Canada story on Jealous Fruits - Federal government profile of the family cherry exporter
- KelownaNow: Meet Canada's cherry king - Profile of David Geen, acreage and history
- Infonews on Thompson Farm near Kamloops - Report on the 275-acre cherry farm
- BC tree fruit acreage and maturity report 2021 - Provincial ministry data on tree fruit acreage
- Statistics Canada 2021 Census of Agriculture - National release on Canadian farms
Jealous Fruits FAQ
Where does Jealous Fruits grow cherries?
In the Okanagan Valley, with a packinghouse at Lake Country, and at Thompson Farm at Pritchard near Kamloops.
How large is Jealous Fruits?
KelownaNow reports about 900 producing acres with 270 more in development.
Where does it export?
Reports list the United States, China and Hong Kong, plus Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia.
Who owns Jealous Fruits?
It is a family-owned business led by David Geen with his family.
Jealous Fruits shows how a family can build a national reputation on a single fruit, a smart harvest window and its own packing. See the British Columbia farms guide for how tree fruit, berries, dairy, poultry and cattle fit together in the province.