The Ugly Company based in Farmersville gets $9 million funding boost

FARMERSVILLE, Calif. (KFSN) -- A local company that saves ugly fruit has received a multi-million-dollar business boost to continue its mission of feeding a need.

"We have come a long way," said Ben Moore, a 4th-generation farmer and CEO of The Ugly Company based out of Farmersville.

"We take ugly fruit that normally gets thrown out at farms. Instead of throwing it out, we take it to our processors and make dried fruit out of it."

Moore says the idea started in 2018 while he was driving tractors loaded with fruit that he says was considered ugly and of no use for growers.

After finding the right team, the company launched shortly after.

"Everybody here loves the Valley and everybody here wants to make the Valley a better place. We recognize the opportunity we have to build a cool brand," Moore said.

Last year, the company upcycled more than 2.1 million pounds of food waste.

Recently, they received $9 million in funding, helping expand its processing capacity.

It was led by led by Sun Valley Packing and Value Creation Strategies along with artist Justin Timberlake and Valley Ag Capital Holdings.

Moore says the money is exactly what was needed to take the company to the next level.

"We have now purchased a plant in Farmersville and we are completely solving all these problems we had from a growth aspect."

Soon enough, this plant will be the place where it all happens from start to finish.

Current employees say The Ugly Company is more than a job, it's family.

"I come to work and Ben allows me to be me and me at 100% is doing a great thing for my backyard which is the Central Valley," said Adam Lee, a salesman with the company.

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