# Luke Saunders

> Luke Saunders is the Chicago-based founder and CEO of Farmer's Fridge, the fresh-food company he started in 2013 after years of struggling to eat well while driving across the Midwest as a traveling salesman. Beginning with a refrigerator in his apartment and one machine in a downtown Chicago food court, he built a vertically integrated operation spanning cooking, cold-chain distribution, software and thousands of smart fridges nationwide.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Farmer's Fridge
- **Organizations:** Farmer's Fridge, Bear Bikes, General Magnaplate Corporation
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** AB in International Studies, Washington University in St. Louis
- **Known for:** Built Farmer's Fridge from one Chicago food-court machine into a national network of more than 2,000 locations serving more than 13 million meals, according to Washington University., Created a vertically integrated fresh-food operation combining central production, demand forecasting, refrigerated distribution and connected retail machines., Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Food & Drink in 2016.

## Career timeline

- **College years** — Ran Bear Bikes through Washington University's Student Entrepreneurial Program, gaining early experience operating a business.
- **After college** — Worked as a regional traveling salesman in metal finishing across the Midwest, driving about 1,000 miles a week and encountering few convenient fresh-food options.
- **2011** — Began developing the idea that became Farmer's Fridge.
- **2013** — Founded Farmer's Fridge and launched its first public machine in a downtown Chicago food court.
- **2016** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Food & Drink.
- **2018** — Named to Crain's Chicago Business 40 Under 40.
- **2019** — Named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business; Farmer's Fridge was named one of Time's Best Inventions of 2019.
- **2020** — Led the company's rapid move into home delivery and expanded hospital service after office and university traffic collapsed.
- **2025** — Discussed the company's decade of scaling on the Fitt Insider and WellBuilt podcasts and appeared at Fast Company's Innovation Festival.

## Achievements

- Built Farmer's Fridge from one Chicago food-court machine into a national network of more than 2,000 locations serving more than 13 million meals, according to Washington University.
- Created a vertically integrated fresh-food operation combining central production, demand forecasting, refrigerated distribution and connected retail machines.
- Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Food & Drink in 2016.
- Named to Crain's Chicago Business 40 Under 40 in 2018.
- Named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2019.
- Redirected Farmer's Fridge assets during the 2020 shutdowns to serve hospitals and launch home delivery while prioritizing workforce retention.

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Appeared at Fast Company's Innovation Festival for a conversation about scaling perishable products and the future of accessible fresh food.
- **2025-05** — Discussed Farmer's Fridge's vertically integrated model, customer data and hospital expansion on the WellBuilt podcast.
- **2025-05** — Commented to Axios Chicago on the launch of a steak salad and growing customer demand for protein.
- **2025-01** — Appeared on Fitt Insider's podcast to discuss operations, location strategy, product development and the company's decade-long growth.

## Links

- Website: https://www.farmersfridge.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukersaunders
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/FarmersFridge
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farmersfridge/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farmersfridge

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/luke-saunders
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27