Mastronardi Produce in Ontario: History, What It Grows, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Mastronardi Produce is a fourth-generation, family-owned greenhouse grower and marketer headquartered in Kingsville, Ontario. Founded in 1954, it describes itself as the leading greenhouse operator in North America, employs more than 3,500 people across Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Netherlands, and was named to Deloitte's Best Managed Companies Platinum Club for the 15th consecutive year in 2024.
| Location | Kingsville, Essex County, Ontario |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1954, by Umberto Mastronardi |
| Sectors | greenhouse tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, berries and lettuce |
| Scale | More than 3,500 employees; 91 acres of Canadian greenhouse capacity added in one announced expansion |
| Why it is elite | Platinum Club of Deloitte's Best Managed Companies (15th consecutive year in 2024); builder of an early 50-acre greenhouse operation |
| Ownership | Family-owned, fourth generation |
| Official website | SUNSET (Mastronardi Produce) official site |
History of Mastronardi Produce
Mastronardi Produce traces its start to 1954 in Kingsville. According to the company's anniversary profile in Produce Business, great-grandfather Armando emigrated to the Leamington area in the 1920s, farmed, and then bought his own farm. His son Umberto saw greenhouse technology on a trip to Europe and went on to build what the company describes as the first commercial greenhouse in North America.
The next generation scaled the idea. In 1995 Don Mastronardi built what the company calls the first 50-acre super greenhouse operation in North America, and Paul Mastronardi now serves as president and chief executive. In 2024 the company marked its 70th anniversary with the Platinum Club designation from Deloitte, which recognizes sustained performance in the Best Managed Companies program.
What Mastronardi Produce Grows and Raises
The company grows tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, berries and lettuce under the SUNSET, Backyard Farms, BerryWorld and Queen of Greens brands, and states that its produce is non-GMO. Production is under glass, which lets the grower control climate, light, irrigation and pest management and supply fresh produce through the Canadian winter.
Capacity in Ontario has grown by both building and partnering. A company announcement describes a newly built 27-acre glass greenhouse in Kingsville, completed in 2020, plus exclusive long-term marketing agreements with J.C. Fresh Farms Ltd. (32 acres in Kingsville) and Orangeline Farms Limited (32 acres in Leamington), which together added 91 acres of Canadian greenhouse capacity. In those two cases Mastronardi is the marketer, not the operator.
Ontario is the center of Canadian greenhouse production. Statistics Canada reports that Ontario held 61.8 percent of Canada's greenhouse area in the 2021 Census of Agriculture, and the Kingsville and Leamington area is the core of that cluster.
How Mastronardi Produce Makes Money
Company-grown greenhouse produce
The company grows its own tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, berries and lettuce in its own greenhouses and sells them through its brands to retailers and food service buyers. Owning production gives it control over quality, variety trials and year-round supply.
Marketing for partner growers
Mastronardi also markets produce grown by other greenhouse operators, as with J.C. Fresh Farms and Orangeline Farms. Selling a partner's crop under a trusted brand adds volume and range without the company carrying every acre of capital cost.
Branded retail programs
The SUNSET, Backyard Farms, BerryWorld and Queen of Greens brands let the company differentiate products by flavor, size and format and build shelf recognition. No revenue figures are published, and none are estimated here.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Mastronardi Produce
Three lessons stand out. First, a family business can scale for generations by repeatedly adopting new technology, in this case glass greenhouses and then very large units, rather than defending the original model. Second, a grower that also markets for neighbors can fill its sales channels and spread risk across more acres than it owns.
Third, a brand matters in produce. The company's multiple labels show that owning the customer relationship, not just the growing, is what turns a commodity vegetable into a recognized product. Smaller operators can borrow the idea on a smaller scale through co-ops, shared labels and marketing alliances.
Greenhouse tomatoes grown in Kingsville through a Canadian winter are about as far from a muddy hay field as farming gets, which is why the crew at farm.FM keeps a soft spot for them. Any farm satire fan will tell you that a tomato is a fruit pretending to be a vegetable, and farm humor works best when it respects the people who coax vines up strings under glass in January. The ranch humor crowd may wonder how a plant can be happier than a heifer in a snowstorm, but the best farm jokes here are the ones the growers tell about their own cucumber trellises.
Part newsroom, part radio dial, farm.FM bills itself as America's first satirical farm site and plays Tractor Tunes, its country music for farmers. Browse a farm.FM writer's back catalog to see the style.
How to Contact Mastronardi Produce
Website: https://www.sunsetgrown.com/
Website as it appeared in company materials and search results, November 2026. No street address, phone or email was verified from the official site for this page; use the site's contact options and confirm before traveling or sending business enquiries.
Mastronardi Produce Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- SUNSET official site - Company brand site for Mastronardi Produce products.
- Company announcement on Kingsville and Leamington greenhouse additions - Details of the 27-acre greenhouse and marketing agreements.
- Produce Business: Platinum Anniversary - Independent trade coverage of the company's 70-year history.
- Statistics Canada: Ontario in the 2021 Census of Agriculture - Official 2021 Census of Agriculture figures for Ontario farms, greenhouse area and sectors.
- Ontario government agriculture census page - Provincial summary of Census of Agriculture data for Ontario.
Mastronardi Produce FAQ
Where is Mastronardi Produce based?
It is headquartered in Kingsville, Ontario, in the Essex County greenhouse region near Leamington.
When was Mastronardi Produce founded?
The company says it was founded in 1954 by Umberto Mastronardi and is now in its fourth generation of family ownership.
What does Mastronardi Produce grow?
Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, berries and lettuce, sold under brands including SUNSET, Backyard Farms, BerryWorld and Queen of Greens.
Does Mastronardi Produce own all the greenhouses it sells from?
No. It operates its own greenhouses and is also the exclusive long-term marketer for partner growers such as J.C. Fresh Farms and Orangeline Farms.
Mastronardi Produce shows how one Kingsville family turned a greenhouse idea into a continental business, and its path offers practical lessons for growers of any size. For the soils, programs and markets behind Ontario agriculture, read the Ontario farms guide, then browse the other profiled operations below.