Jim Kras
James E. Kras is an American business executive who serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Edible Garden AG Incorporated (NASDAQ: EDBL), a publicly traded controlled‑environment agriculture (CEA) company focused on sustainably grown produce, agricultural technology, and consumer packaged food products distributed to major grocery retailers in the United States. Kras successfully led the company's IPO on NASDAQ in 2020.
In 2026, the company announced a partnership with Tetra Pak to produce RTD functional beverages in a large Midwest facility, marking a major expansion beyond fresh produce.
Career
Prior to Edible Garden, Kras held leadership roles in the consumer packaged goods and nutrition sectors. In a 2021 interview with Republic.com, Kras described his early interest in sustainable agriculture and his transition from marketing on Madison Avenue to leading Edible Garden AG Incorporated. In 1997, Kras produced the film Brokers.
Kras became involved with Edible Garden in the mid‑2010s and served as President and Chief Marketing Officer beginning in 2016, before becoming CEO in 2020.
In 2018, Walmart partnered with IBM to implement a blockchain-based system to track produce through its supply chain. As a supplier of leafy greens to Walmart, Edible Garden developed its own digital inventory system to participate in the program.
He also directed the company’s expansion into packaged foods, plant-based sauces, fermented products, and functional nutrition products distributed in major retail channels.
Expansion into ready‑to‑drink beverages
In 2026, Edible Garden announced a strategic RTD beverage expansion through a partnership with Tetra Pak to manufacture shelf-stable nutritional beverages using aseptic processing and carton packaging. The facility is intended to support high-protein and functional beverages across sports nutrition and plant-based categories.
Recognition
- Named to the NJBIZ Power 100 list of influential New Jersey business leaders (2025)
- Named again to the NJBIZ Power 100 list (2026)