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Johnny's Selected Seeds history
Johnny's Selected Seeds company history timeline
Like anything grown from seed, the company known as Johnny's Selected Seeds had the smallest of beginnings. It put down its first roots in relative obscurity in spring 1973, when founder Rob Johnston, Jr, at age 22, and with $500 in savings, started the fledgling seed company in a New Hampshire farmhouse attic, moving in the fall to his parents' home in Acton, Massachusetts.
He first named his small company, however, after the legendary seedsman, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman). In the fall of 1974, his small company moved temporarily to Dixmont, Maine, to use farmland offered by friends.
In 1975, he relocated the company on its present site — a former dairy farm in Albion, a small town in Central Maine, population 1500.
One major milestone in Johnny's history was the launch of its first website in the spring of 1995.
In late 2002, the company relocated its headquarters to Winslow, Maine, a move precipitated by the desire to house the majority of Johnny's employees under one roof, as the company had previously been operating in three separate buildings.
In 2003, the 30th anniversary of Johnny's Selected Seeds, the company opened the Catalog Store.
In 2006, Johnny's launched an employee ownership program, with Johnston and his wife, Janika Eckert, selling shares to an Employee Stock Ownership Trust.
2011 photo of our founder, Rob Johnston (now retired), at Johnny's seed warehouse in Winslow, Maine.
Grower's Newsletter | November 2021
New-for-2022 Get an inside peek at our up & coming new releases!
Our 2022 catalog will be bringing over 100 new seeds, tools, and supplies to your mailbox in a few short weeks.
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Johnny's Selected Seeds competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allan Brothers | - | $5.0M | 100 | - |
| Plainville Farms | 1835 | $1.9M | 5 | - |
| Shenandoah Growers | 1989 | $30,000 | 155 | 58 |
| Brandt Farms | 1941 | $26.0M | 350 | - |
| Shoup Manufacturing | 1977 | $19.1M | 20 | - |
| Calavo Growers | 1924 | $1.2B | 1,848 | 10 |
| Apple King | 1914 | $20.2M | 100 | - |
| Taylor Farms | 1994 | $2.0B | 20,000 | 12 |
| Foster Farms | 1939 | $3.0B | 10,001 | 165 |
| Ostrom Mushroom Farms | 1928 | $3.7M | 17 | - |
Johnny's Selected Seeds history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Johnny's Selected Seeds, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Johnny's Selected Seeds. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Johnny's Selected Seeds. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Johnny's Selected Seeds. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Johnny's Selected Seeds and its employees or that of Zippia.
Johnny's Selected Seeds may also be known as or be related to Johnny's Selected Seeds and Johnny's Selected Seeds, Inc.