Kapi Kapi Growers announced that beloved team member, Douglas (Doug) Bakker, passed away unexpectedly on June 4th, 2025.
A 40-year veteran of the produce industry, Bakker spent the first 30 years of his career helping to run his family's wholesale business, Bakker Produce. These years gave him hands-on experience in sorting and repacking, loading and unloading trucks, and making deliveries to customers in Chicago and the Northwest Indiana region. Over time, Bakker held roles in IT, HR, and accounting before settling into sales.
Bakker then spent seven years in sales and operations roles, expanding his family business knowledge to include global supply chain experience. He joined Kapi Kapi in 2020 when the company was just starting. His knowledge in all aspects of his regional wholesale business, coupled with a background and expertise in tropical fruits, was immensely valuable to Kapi's growth.
© Kapi Kapi GrowersBakker's knowledge, background, and expertise in tropical fruits were valuable to Kapi's growth.
"Doug's passion for the business was evident from our first meeting with him," said Sofia Acon, president of Kapi Kapi Growers. "It was clear that his experience in nurturing long-term partnerships and relationships made him the right choice when we began building our Business Development team. Over time, Doug played an integral role in developing the type of people-first culture that defines us today. His commitment to strong leadership and cultivating lasting relationships earned him a promotion to director of business development in 2023. He will be deeply missed."
In the company's early stage, Bakker helped Kapi build name recognition within the industry, and much of the company's steady growth can be attributed to his service-minded sales approach.
"I will miss working alongside Doug and will always fondly remember our time together. We only worked together for five years, but to me, he was a lifelong friend and colleague," said Mark Doiron, senior advisor. "Many of his colleagues will remember how he would call them just to say, 'I appreciate you.' That's the kind of team player Doug was."
Bakker was born on November 16, 1968 to Chuck and Jean Bakker Sr and is survived by his wife, Lora Bakker; children: Matthew (fiancé Emily Romero) Bakker, Timothy Bakker, Meghan (Josh) Rodriguez; brothers: Chuck Bakker, Paul (Julie) Bakker; and sisters: Deb Wright, Karin (Sonny) Ross, Barb (Mike) Toth.
Bakker had a passion for sports and loved following teams like the Cubs, the Bears, and the IU basketball team. He especially loved baseball and was the former president of the Lakes of Four Seasons Baseball League. One of his goals was to visit all the Major League Baseball fields with his son, Matthew. They ended up visiting 15 out of 30 fields. Bakker also loved to travel with his wife and spend time with his family.
For more information:
Kapi Kapi Growers
[email protected]
https://www.kapigrowers.com/
