World's Largest Box of Raisins: world record set in Kingsburg, California
Kingsburg, California, United States--Ambitious students at California State University-Fresno (Dr. William E. Rice’s Marketing Block class) had the crazy idea of constructing a 12-foot by eight-foot raisin box and filled it with 16,500 pounds of raisins; it took 300 to 400 hours of prep time, with 60 hours going to box construction, and sets the world record for the World's Largest Box of Raisins, according to the WORLD RECORD ACADEMY.
"The giant red box currently resides at Sun-Maid’s headquarters," the official website says.
"The creation of the box was a part of Dr. William E. Rice’s Marketing Block class at California State University – Fresno, the worldslargestthings.com reports.
"After the creation of the
World’s Largest Box of Raisins, the marketing class donated it to the Sun-Maid plant, with a dedication by Gayle Wilson, wife of California Gov. Pete Wilson in celebration of Sun-Maid’s 80th anniversary."
Photo above: 1992 when the dedication of the World’s Biggest Raisin Box at Sun-Maid World Headquarters was formally dedicated by Gayle Wilson, then the First Lady of California.
All photos: Sun Maid
World's Largest Box of Raisins
"Not too far from the 99, nice little stop. There is a gift shop with everything SunMaid you never imagined. Even a SunMaid monopoly game?! Interesting stop," the Roadside America reports.
"The World's Largest Box of Raisins stands next to the Sun Maid corporate office. The Sun Maid cutout is next to the gift shop."
Testimonials from Trip Advisor
"Great stop for snacks and they have MORE than raisins! Be sure to get a picture with the worlds biggest box of raisins! The kids loved it!"
"If you like raisins, this is the place for you. Every product from Sun Maid is here. There is clothing,novelties as well as those dried up grapes."
"Lots of fun, very informative and informational. Easily accessible from the highway. Well worth the stop - especially if the young ones interested in learning about things we take for granted."
"excellent 20-30 minutes stop, lots samples to taste at this store, plus they sell many goodies and show a video about Sun-Maid company history and production methods."
"Go to gate 3 entrance and drive to the plant the shop is on the left. You will pass gates exits 1-3 keep going . Nice store with lots of raisins , we brought lots of delicious raisins."
"I was glad I went. So many wonderful chocolate covered treats, but we kept it to healthy raisins and pepitas, and also bought a nylon exercise shirt in the sale bin for $5, as well as logo pens and postcards. We bought exotic small boxes (6 pack) of lemon flavored golden raisins. These are way better than they sound. We are now sorry we did not pick up the strawberry flavored ones too. My advice is to buy anything you like while you are there. It is so good, nothing will go to waste. I was thinking I could always order off the website, but the selection is very limited, whereas the store has extensive inventory. Much of it is items you don't normally see at your local store."
Address of the Sun-maid Plant, Office and Growers Store is:
Sun-Maid Growers of California , 13525 S. Bethel Avenue, Kingsburg, California 93631
Directions: Gold State Hwy/Hwy 99 exit 114. then north one mile on S. Bethel Ave. Entrance is on left, but usually gated after business hours.
Phone: 559-897-6363; 1-800-SUNMAID
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30 AM – 5 PM; and Sa in Nov. only. Closed all major holidays.
Admission: Free
Sun Made official website: https://www.sunmaid.com/
Sun-Maid
"Sun-Maid Growers of California is an American privately owned cooperative of raisin growers headquartered in Fresno, California. Sun-Maid is one of the largest raisin and dried fruit processor in the world.
As a cooperative, Sun-Maid is made up of approximately 850 family farmers who grow raisin grapes within a 100-mile (160-kilometer) radius of the processing plant. Sun-Maid also sources dried fruit beyond this geographical area. In 2012, Sun-Maid celebrated its 100th anniversary as a grower cooperative.
Sun-Maid produces more than 200 million pounds (90 million kilograms) of natural raisins annually. Nearly half of all Sun-Maid raisins are packed for consumer sales, whether in a box, a bag or a canister in varying sizes. The other half are sold as an ingredient to bakeries, cereal companies, as raisin paste and raisin concentrate. The Thompson Seedless grape is the most popular variety used to make raisins, although other grapes, such as Fiesta, Flame and Zante currants are also used.
Besides raisins, Sun-Maid packs a full line of dried fruit, such as figs, dates, cranberries, apples, prunes, apricots and tropical fruits. Sun-Maid also packs yogurt-covered raisins, such as those dipped in dark chocolate, vanilla, orange cream, strawberry-Greek and cherry-chocolate flavored yogurt. (wikipedia)
