Meryl Kennedy is an American agribusiness entrepreneur best known as the founder and CEO of Kennedy Rice Mill and the consumer rice brand 4Sisters Rice, where she focuses on sustainable, high‑quality rice products and modernizing her family’s multi‑generation farming business.

Quick Scoop

  • Profession: Entrepreneur and agribusiness leader, primarily in rice farming, milling, and branded rice products.
  • Companies: Founder & CEO of Kennedy Rice Mill (also known as KRM) and 4Sisters Rice, a retail rice brand sold nationally in the United States.
  • Background: Youngest of four daughters from Mer Rouge, a small rural village in Louisiana, where her family has long been involved in rice and related operations.

Early life and education

  • Meryl Kennedy was born and raised in Mer Rouge, Louisiana, a village of fewer than 500 people, in a family deeply rooted in rice and land management.
  • She studied International Affairs with a minor in Spanish at the University of Georgia, later turning down an opportunity to attend Oxford University to return home and work in the family rice business.

Building the rice business

  • In her early 20s, she led the startup and development of Kennedy Rice Mill in Mer Rouge, one of the few new rice mills built in the United States in the last quarter‑century.
  • Kennedy Rice Mill and related entities handle rice farming, drying, milling, grain storage, marketing, land management, and real estate, allowing her to integrate the supply chain from field to packaged product.

4Sisters Rice and brand vision

  • She later used the mill’s capabilities to launch 4Sisters Rice, positioning it as a modern, sustainability‑minded consumer brand that brings her family’s rice directly to retail shelves like major U.S. grocery chains.
  • The brand story emphasizes sisterhood, transparent sourcing, and environmentally conscious production, reflecting her focus on combining legacy agriculture with contemporary branding and values.

Recognition and public role

  • Meryl Kennedy has been recognized with regional business awards, such as “Business Innovative Leadership Award” and “Manufacturer of the Year,” highlighting her role in modernizing rural manufacturing and agribusiness.
  • She participates in business and leadership networks and speaks publicly about topics like female entrepreneurship, rebranding family businesses, and balancing leadership with family life.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.