Kirin Holdings is a top beer maker in Japan through its Kirin Brewery Co. In addition to its domestic Kirin-branded beers, the firm owns brewers that serve overseas markets, such as Australia's Lion Nathan. The company makes the alcoholic fruit drink chu-hi and owns some 50% of Japanese wine producer Mercian Corporation. Expanding beyond beverages, Kirin also has operations in the health- and functional-food, and pharmaceutical-manufacturing sectors.

Perfetti Van Melle S.p.A. internationally known brands include Alpenliebe, Daygum, Golia, Happydent, Mentos (the Freshmaker!), and Vivident, as well as the Airheads brand of candy in the US. In 2006 it acquired Spanish candy company Chupa Chups. Founded by brothers Ambrogio and Egidio Perfetti in 1946, Perfetti now has some 30 manufacturing sites and sells its products in more than 130 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and the US.

North Central Farmers Elevator's mission is to give its members a lift. The full-service member-owned agricultural cooperative located in South Dakota offers farm-support goods and services, including feed, seed and other farm supplies, along with agronomy, energy, and marketing services. In conjunction with LOL Farmland Feeds and South Dakota Wheat Growers, North Central Farmers Elevator owns Dakotaland Feeds, which makes and markets feed to producers. It also has a marketing alliance with South Dakota Oilseed Processors to sell its member/farmer's soybean crops.

Graves Brothers produces grapefruits and oranges on the graves of timberlands. The company's orchards are located on about 6,500 acres of its former Florida timberland. It grows, packs, and distributes citrus fruit under the Orchid Grapefruit, Coral Produce, and Cypress Florida Citrus labels. Graves Brothers has customers in North America, Europe, and Asia. Its varieties include ruby red, flame, Rio star, and white seedless grapefruit; navel, Hamlin, Valencia and temple oranges; and Orlando and Minneola tangelos. The company also has interests in timber, farmland, and real estate in South and North Carolina and Georgia. The company is owned and operated by the founding Graves family.

Despite what your toddler says at bedtime, good things do come out of the dark. Franklin Organic Mushrooms, which does business as Franklin Farms, has sprouted into one of the top growers and harvester of certified organic mushrooms in the US. The company's mushroom crop, grown completely without pesticides, includes agaricus (white "button" mushrooms), portabella, shiitake, crimini, oyster, enoki, beech, and maitake. It also produces meat-alternative vegetarian products made from soy and mushrooms, including Veggiburgers, Veggiballs, Veggidogs, and Chick'n Nuggets. The company was founded in 1983.

Origin Agritech Limited (NASDAQ:SEED), a leading agricultural biotechnology company and a top player in seed industry, specializes in research and development, production, sale and distribution of agricultural crop seeds. The Company's major seed products are corn, rice, cotton and canola. Origin is headquartered in Beijing and conducts its business operations mainly through Beijing Origin Seed Technology Inc., Changchun Origin Seed Technology Development Ltd., Henan Origin Cotton Technology development Ltd., Zhengcheng Rice Seed Ltd., Changrong seed Ltd., and Beijing Origin State harvest Biotechnology Ltd..

Founded in 1988, ITI Tropicals is owned by president Gert Van Manen. ITI Tropicals packs a lot of fruity flavor into not very itty-bitty packages. ITI Tropicals company imports tropical fruit purees, concentrates, waters, essences, and other products, focusing on banana, coconut, guava, mango, papaya, and passion fruit. It also carries more exotic fruits such as mangosteen, mora-berry, acerola, lulo, tamarind, and guanabana. ITI distributes its products, which come in frozen or aseptic packaging and range in size from 5-gallon pails to 220-gallon drums, to food manufacturers throughout the US.

The family-owned and -operated Baumer Foods, Inc. was founded in 1923 by Alvin and Mildred Baumer. Baumer Foods company produces a variety of sauces and condiments, including hot, steak, wing, teriyaki, soy, and Worcestershire sauces, spicy mustards, and jams and jellies, all under the Crystal brand name. It also sells Figaro brand Hickory Liquid Smoke and Mesquite Liquid Smoke. Manufacturing 3 million gallons of its Crystal hot sauce yearly, Baumer Foods distributes its foods to some 75 countries worldwide.

Atlantic Premium Brands doesn't operate along the Atlantic Ocean but it does have a boatload of premium regional meat brands. The company processes and distributes packaged value-added meats under names such as J.C. Potter, Blue Ribbon, Texas Traditions, Richard's Cajun Foods, Carlton, and Cajun Favorites. It also offers its customers private-label products and services. Atlantic Premium's meats include smoked and breakfast sausages, ham, bacon, and meat-based entrees. The Northbrook, Illinois-headquartered company distributes its products to US supermarkets and discount stores.

There's quite a larder up in this TreeHouse. The company is one of the US's largest producers of private-label and branded pickles (Farmans, Nalley's, Peter Piper, and Steinfeld). Pickle sales accounted for 20% of TreeHouse Foods' 2009 sales. Its non-dairy creamers (Cremora and Mocha Mix) are also top sellers, ringing up about 22% of sales in 2009. But its big 2009 seller (by a mere 1%) was its soup (mostly private label) and infant feeding segment (Nature's Goodness and private label). The company also manufactures aseptic (shelf-stable) and refrigerated foods, including cheese sauces, marinades, condiments, jams, puddings, and the branded liquid egg substitute, Second Nature.

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