Few ingredients are as basic and fundamentalꟷor as wide-rangingꟷas fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans. These form the backbone of so many possible food and beverage creations it is safe to say they can never go out of style.

Fruit and vegetable formats have expanded beyond whole fresh, pre-prepped fresh, frozen, dried, and puréed to include multiple forms of dehydrated (such as vacuum- and microwave-dried), juiced, and powdered forms that preserve the nutrients and maintain color so well they actually can be used to naturally color certain formulations. This last attribute is bringing fruit and vegetable powders and extracts into the spotlight as never before due to the impending regulations that could see a possible end of artificial colorants in foods and beverages

Beyond that, the variety of available produce has expanded exponentially to include literally thousands of examples drawn from every corner of the world. Jackfruit, breadfruit, pink pineapples, aronia, carob, camu-camu, goldenberries (a.k.a. cape gooseberries or pichu berries), dragonfruit, sea beans, and heirloom tomatoes are just some currently trending examples. And even among the more familiar produce items, there are varieties within varieties. Think: Purple potatoes, variegated lemons, shishito peppers, Ataulfo mangos, opal apples, yellow dragonfruit, black apricots, pluots (and other stonefruit hybrids), white strawberries, golden raspberries…if a processor wants to try it, it’s usually available.

Mushrooms, while not technically a fruit or vegetable, are a produce category experiencing an especially big burst of popularity, with varieties such as lion's mane, king oyster, reishi, hen-of-the-woods (maitake), cordyceps, and standing out for their powerful health benefits. This also has driven greater interest among developers in more mainstream mushrooms such as shiitake and portabello.

Fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, mushrooms, and other produce are experiencing a renewed popularity that has only increased in recent years. Their combination of flavor, versatility, and nutrition hits all the right buttons for the aware consumer of today. Processors can bet that the category will never be boring and that new items, varieties, applications, and formats will present themselves with increasing regularity.

In this section, you’ll find detailed listings for suppliers of fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and ingredients derived from them, as well as ancillary ingredients to support the development and manufacture of products using them. Click below for references by company name, headquarters, and website.