James "Jimmy" Erneston
Title: President, Founder
Location: Loxahatchee, FL
Email: jim@jjproduce.com
Phone: 561-422-9762
Fax: 561-422-9759
It doesn’t take long to figure out that Jimmy Erneston doesn’t just do business with people, he builds lasting relationships. This holds true whether referring to a local Georgia family grower whom he pursued in the parking lot of a hardware store that is now one of J&J’s largest growers, or to the young boy selling produce by the side of the road who is now the company’s farming advisor. The relationships Jimmy Erneston has formed over the years are the hallmark of a company that does business the right way.
The Erneston name has been synonymous with highest quality produce since 1923, when Jimmy’s grandfather began serving Palm Beach County area restaurants, schools and hotels. Erneston & Sons continued to flourish under the guidance of Jimmy’s father & uncle, and Jimmy spent 15 years learning the business “from the best.” Eventually he decided to break off from the family wholesale distribution business, and not wanting to compete against his family, Jimmy decided he would supply his former wholesale distribution competition with produce directly from local farmers. “I knew that by representing farmers we could make everyone happy,” Jimmy says.
In 1983, Jimmy formed J&J Produce with his twin brother Jerry, purchased the first company vehicle — a used van he bought for $500 — and began selling produce. The early days were an intimate family affair, Jimmy’s wife Annie remembers: “We converted our garage into a warehouse. Jimmy would bring the van home fully loaded with tomatoes, and the kids and I would sort them at our sorting station that was once our pool table.”
It wasn’t long before the business outgrew the garage, and the brothers moved to a 1,000 square foot warehouse with refrigeration. Jimmy remembers the custom office they had built for the new location: “We built it out of two pallets we joined together, and you could literally put a forklift on it and move it. It was so narrow, my brother Jerry and I couldn’t back out of it at the same time.” By this time the company had acquired two trucks, and Jimmy quickly took advantage of his new scale by purchasing produce by the truckload at reduced prices.
While J&J Produce wasn’t the most sophisticated operation in those early days, Jimmy’s reputation for honest and reliable service was resonating with more and more customers. “We were literally given the warehouse keys to the largest wholesalers in South Florida so we could deliver after hours. When we finished unloading around two o’clock in the morning we would lock up their warehouse for them,” Jimmy recalls.
Led by Jimmy’s vision and strong Christian faith, the company’s growth continued, and today is an industry leader. Its headquarters near West Palm Beach, Florida, features a state-of-the-art 116,000 square foot packinghouse. The company also operates six additional facilities to serve its customers. Jimmy gives all the credit to God for the company’s success — J&J has always been a faith-based company and every box J&J ships is printed with the Bible verse, John 14:6.
Through his vision and leadership, Jimmy has positioned the company for continued growth and success. Today J&J is poised for further expansion into new retail markets, and is extending its operations to the Western U.S. and internationally. It will always carry the promise of Integrity instilled by its founder.
<<< Return to Team Page