Moving the Needle … Together

Forty-one years ago, a small team of us dropped copies of the very first Produce Business magazine under hotel room doors in San Francisco. We were young, a little reckless, and sure that the produce industry had something very important to contribute to the broader food trade. Four decades later, I’m more convinced of that than ever.

When Jim Prevor and I launched this magazine in 1985, we gave it a simple mission: “Initiate Industry Improvement.” Of all the improvements we’ve chased since then (better marketing and merchandising, product innovation, safer food, smarter supply chains), one goal sits above the rest: collaborate closely with the industry to entice people to eat more fruits and vegetables.

“In the end, increased consumption must come about by changes in eating patterns… Without this kind of switch, consumers may drive sales of one item or another but are not likely to change overall consumption patterns.”

— Jim Prevor, Produce Business, March 2013

It is also the goal that has been hardest to reach. The CDC reports that only about one in ten American adults eats the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. Categories grow, new items come to market, and promotions come and go. Yet, as Jim often reminded us, selling more of one item does not always mean people are eating more produce overall. A win for blueberries can be a loss for apples. The real prize is changing what goes on the plate throughout the course of each day.

That is a big challenge, and no single company, association or magazine can solve it alone. So for our 41st anniversary, I’m asking for your contribution in two ways.

First, write to us. What is working to increase consumption, and what isn’t? Is it retail merchandising/promotions, foodservice menus, school programs, packaging innovation, flavor-driven breeding, or something nobody has tried yet? What should the industry stop doing? We want the ideas you debate at the bar after a trade show, not just the ones in press releases. Please send your ideas and comments to editor@producebusiness.com. We will publish a selection in our Letters to the Editor section throughout the year, and the best ideas will help shape our editorial calendar.

Second, help us recognize those people and companies already making a difference. Across the supply chain, there are people and companies quietly moving the needle: a retailer whose produce department turns shoppers into regular customers; a chef or restaurant introducing a new way to present a fruit or vegetable as a center-of-the plate item on its menu; a commodity board or regional organization developing a new playbook for promotion; a grower-shipper whose marketing gets kids asking for vegetables.

We want to find them, celebrate their accomplishments and share their insights.

Please go to ProduceBusiness.com and nominate the people and companies you think do the best job of increasing produce consumption. Look for the icons on the side of our website for these awards:

• Best Independent Store

• Merchandiser of the Year

• 40 under Forty

• Most Innovative Dining Outlet

• Marketing Excellence Award

• New Product Innovation Award

• Best Global Marketing Initiative

• Retail Sustainability Award

Our editors will review every nomination, and we will feature the most exemplary in our pages throughout the coming year, so the rest of the industry can learn from their examples.

Jim believed that the best ideas in this industry come from the people who live it every day. For 41 years, YOU have given us the stories, the insights and occasionally the arguments that fill these pages. As we move deeper into our fifth decade, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than by opening those pages even wider.

Let’s work together to raise the bar on produce consumption. I look forward to hearing from you.

Ken Whitacre
Publisher/CEO

P.S. If you’d like to chat about ways your organization can help increase consumption, or to share an idea directly, please call me at 561-994-1118, ext. 101, or email me at KWhitacre@phoenixmedianet.com