Real Pickles in Greenfield is set to double its production and sales, putting it on track to produce more than 500,000 jars of pickles, kraut, kimchi and other foods this year.
The business has continued its growth and success over the past 25 years, and its commitment to sustainability and supporting a healthy local food system is part of why state Sen. Jo Comerford nominated Real Pickles for the Manufacturer of the Year Award in the Hampshire, Franklin and Worcester District. The company was presented with the award at the 11th annual Manufacturing Awards Ceremony hosted by the Massachusetts Legislative Manufacturing Caucus at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on Oct. 27.
“It feels really good,” said Kate Hunter, sales and marketing manager at Real Pickles. “I’m so proud of our team. Everybody in production, people in the office, sales and admin, our farmers, everybody coming together to make it happen.
“We sourced more than 600,000 pounds of organic northeastern vegetables this year, and we’re making about 500,000 jars,” Hunter continued. “That product is coming from vegetables grown in our area, and distributing that back out to the community. Creating jobs both here and on farms, it feels like something to be really, really proud of, and it’s awesome to be recognized.”
On Oct. 29, the Real Pickles team welcomed Comerford for a tour of the Greenfield facility on a kimchi production day. The senator was able to see how they take cabbage, carrots, leeks and various spices to make the product.
“Everybody needs to hear the Real Pickles story,” Comerford said.
Real Pickles was launched in 2001 by Dan Rosenberg, who began making traditional pickles in 1999 after attending a workshop at a Northeast Organic Farming Association conference. In 2009, the business, which had previously operated out of the Western Massachusetts Food Processing Center, purchased its own industrial facility across the street on Wells Street and outfitted it for pickle production. This included installing a kitchen, freezers and storage areas, and solar panels that power approximately 70% of the operation.
In 2013, the company then transitioned into being a worker-owned co-op. Now in 2026, the co-op has 21 staff members, 11 of whom are worker-owners.
“Being a co-op has really rooted us here in this community,” Real Pickles General Manager Kristin Howard said. “We’re owned by the people that work here and make decisions here. It’s a testament to the support we have from the community.
“It’s not a coincidence that we’re here,” Howard continued. “I think it really is a place where we’ll thrive.”
In Comerford’s eyes, everything about Real Pickles “deserves to be celebrated.”
“Look at the history of Real Pickles, its current operation, the kind of value it holds while it does its manufacturing work,” Comerford said. “Everything about this business, and its employees and worker-owners, deserves to be celebrated. It’s actually so inspiring.”
Hunter said Real Pickles was one of just a few food manufacturers at the celebration at Gillette Stadium, and it was fun to see what other manufacturers were doing in other industries while also representing agriculture and western Massachusetts. Meanwhile, the business was able to show off what it does and how it has scaled production while maintaining a commitment to sustainability and producing healthy organic products, even in the face of challenges.
Victor Signore is the vegetable coordinator at Real Pickles. His job is to foster relationships with farmers and coordinate purchases of vegetables to meet the demand of production, a job he said has gotten harder over the past few years due to the impacts of climate change. He noted the farmers that Real Pickles works with are trying to navigate changing conditions, some by adding greenhouses to extend their growing seasons, and seeking solutions.
Real Pickles has about nine core farms it works with, but it also has relationships with others across the Northeast that allows the business to secure vegetables even if one farm is struggling one season. Signore said that historically, Real Pickles has sourced produce from farms in western Massachusetts as well as from across New England, New York and New Jersey, but instability in farming seasons has required Real Pickles to expand the region it sources from. This year, some early-season cabbage came from Pennsylvania.
“We’ve had to diversify geographically,” Signore said. “It’s becoming more unpredictable to plan.”
Howard said most of the company’s sales are wholesale to stores across the Northeast, but as it has grown, the company has been looking to boost its sales in food service. Real Pickles sells to Amherst College and is looking to expand to other colleges.
Looking to the next 25 years of Real Pickles, Howard said she hopes the company will keep growing and creating local organic food.
“We really want to just keep doing what we’re doing,” Howard said, “which is buying regional organic vegetables, supporting the organic food system, keeping money in our communities, growing our staff and creating jobs here in the Connecticut River Valley.”
