Founded in 1940, United Salad Co. was the only distributor in Portland, Ore., to pre-package fresh produce for the retail trade. Kienows and Safeway were among its first customers to purchase pre-packaged coleslaw and tomatoes. It expanded its operations to become a full-line wholesaler offering all varieties of fruits, vegetables, herbs and specialty and processed produce. It bought its own delivery company to cater to the food service market segment in 1985 and evolved into a full-service institutional produce distributor. United Salad Co. has a modern 100,000-square-foot warehouse and processing facility and is the largest produce distributor in Oregon, receiving fresh produce seven days a week. With its expansion into Seattle in 1999, United Salad Co. has the broadest distribution base of any independent produce company in the Pacific Northwest.