About Us
Welcome to Rainbow! Come and join a family of bird, mammal, and reptile lovers, fishermen, zoos, museums, universities, and even the food (yes human!), television and movie industry.
Our founder Fred Rhyme as a young man in the 1950’s started raising mealworms in his garage and selling to the local bait stores out of the trunk of his car. Fred always loved to fish, and mealworms were his favorite bait. After years of hard work, Fred was selling his worms full time. He was able to purchase some properties in Compton, California. He worked hard and started making Rainbow Bait and Tackle into a large-scale farm adding other critters like crickets and waxworms over the years. Today, the city block that Rainbow Mealworms sits on is fondly known as "Mealworm City" to customers and neighbors alike.
With the passing of years, a strong bond of family was formed between Fred and the employees of Rainbow Mealworms. Many of Rainbow's present employees have been here for over forty years and work alongside their own children and grandchildren! This bond of family is extended to our customers. Some of Fred’s first customers remain customers today.
We lost Fred to cancer at the end of 2011 and honoring the family tradition his step-daughter Gillian Spence manages Rainbow today. She has worked hard to keep Rainbow Mealworms at the forefront of the feeder industry introducing new feeders to the line like Dubia, silkworms, and hornworms. Being a biologist and reptile enthusiast, she loves working with the insects she grew up with. She has pet Leopard Geckos, Panther Chameleons, Praying Mantis, and many Hissing Roach species!
Today Rainbow Mealworms exists in three locations and has 64 employees with a retail reptile shop and two wholesale stores.
