Matt Hubbard, 38
Director of Sales , Local Bounti , Hamilton, MT
June 10, 2025 | 3 min to read
SHORT BIO
Hometown: Boise, ID
Hobbies: Traveling with family, Golf, Scuba diving, Hunting
Family/Community: Married, 2 daughters, Afterschool Marine enrichment program volunteer instructor
Motto in life: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go as a team.
With over 14 years of experience in the fresh produce industry, Hubbard has built a career grounded in innovation, strategic growth, and a passion for specialty products. He started in 2011 with Wonderful Brands. While at Wonderful, he maintained relationships and increased revenue through in-store merchandising for over 150 retail stores in Southern California.
In 2015, he joined Frieda’s Specialty Produce team as an account manager, overseeing the foodservice channel, while also building new programs in retail and the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Programs (FFVP). Hubbard helped expand the FFVP program nationally as one of the top specialty program offerings in the nation, along with increasing and bringing on new exotic national and regional programs with retailers. One of his highlights at Frieda’s was building a $5 million specialty program at Sprouts Farmers Market in under two years.
During COVID, he relocated his family to Boise, ID, working remotely with Frieda’s. Then, in May 2023, he joined Local Bounti as director of sales. He leads foodservice and away-from-home channel, while also building new national partners through business development. In just two years, he has brought in an estimated $6 million in new business sales, with many new projects on the horizon within the coming year through Local Bounti’s six U.S. farms.
In March 2025, he graduated from the yearlong Southeast Produce Council Next Generation Leadership Academy (Class 2). He also sits on the Step UPP foodservice committee.
Q: What advice would you give someone new to the produce industry?
Be open-minded and active. The industry moves a thousand miles a minute, and it can be easy to get sucked in and lose focus.
Be patient, ask for guidance, lean on peers. I have spent many late nights in warehouses and hours behind the phone, but that experience only makes you better adapted and prepared in the long run.
Secondly, get involved and be active. Sign up for mentorships and leadership programs, ask around to see where you can volunteer with expos. I came into the industry knowing no one and had no family produce background, so I learned a lot of things the hard way.
Q: What is the one thing in your business that you are most passionate about?
Relationship building. I have learned this industry is all about the people and relationships you create that make it happen. The rapport I have built with industry colleagues has helped me become a better mentor and leader, and to learn more about this industry. No other industry cares about each other and supports their peers like produce. The saying goes “people buy from people they love.”
Q: What challenges and opportunities do you see for the future of the industry?
The biggest challenge I see in the future is food scarcity. We are only growing in population, and land and water is only becoming less and less available. By 2050, the world will need 70% more food. Part of the reason I came to Local Bounti was the company’s passion for sustainability and technology to innovate new ways to feed the population.
Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career?
My biggest accomplishment has been graduating from the Southeast Produce Council Next Generation Leadership Academy (Class 2) in March. Being one of 12 selected, followed by the most rewarding yearlong leadership program, will always be a highlight of my produce career. Also, to be the first person from Local Bounti to attend the program was a tremendous honor.
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