PMA’s Lauren Scott challenges industry to have the courage to change
MONTEREY, CALIF. — This common prayer lit the screen at Produce Marketing Association’s Foodservice Conference & Expo general session:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Regardless of anyone’s religious or spiritual beliefs, many produce professionals would agree that 2020 and the first half of 2021 have required a lot of courage and change.
Lack of “labor and talent: It has spared no company,” said Lauren M. Scott, PMA’s chief strategy and membership officer, the session’s keynote speaker July 22. “And what’s driving this is that the global pandemic had people reappraise their life, their values and make very difficult choices. It has coined the term, the Great Resignation.
Prioritizing mental health is also part of the zeitgeist of our time, she said.
“But everything we’ve gone through has come down to one thing. It’s change. We all know that change is uncomfortable, even in the best of times,” she continued. “So, the question really is, how do we have the courage to change the things that we can change?”
Courage requires two behaviors, she said: Curiosity and being candid with yourself and others.
Scott challenged the crowd, seated at a few dozen, half-filled round tables, to ask themselves a few courage questions, such as being able to clearly articulate what you want to know and who can answer it. Seeking backup perspectives is helpful too, including those not in your category.
And then, ask yourself what’s going well and what’s not working.
“This question here is the bedrock of innovation,” Scott said. “Innovation is not something we should dabble with, not something we do just in crisis. Our competitors are doing it.”
Scott mentioned the acceleration of ghost kitchens, YouTube sensations with as many as 65 million followers — and managing to consistently deliver food hot and fresh.
The role of data and analysis can’t be stressed enough, she said.
“You thought you were in the food industry. I’m here to tell you, you’re in the tech industry,” Scott said.
Two of the biggest innovation categories Scott is seeing is in operations and menus. Businesses are striving to get more volume per person. Channels are blurring. For instance, New York City’s fine-dining beacon, 11 Madison Park, went all vegan.
“Foodservice puts the ‘ooh’ in food,” she said.
Alison Snowden, foodservice sales manager for Avocados from Mexico, was instrumental in creating the Guac in a Box promotion for distributors, which includes a 4-serving batch. Distributors sold it to restaurants, which sold it to customers with their wings and other items that often accompany guacamole dip and chips. Even school districts bought the boxes for students to take home for Super Bowl weekend, she said.
“Everyone had to adjust and think of a new strategy to run their business effectively,” Snowden said. “So, we definitely think it will never be the same.”
Foodservice and hospitality won’t be returning to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels anytime soon, Scott pointed out, showing a chart on the session’s big screens.
According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association’s U.S. forecast for COVID-19 recovery, starting with operating at 100% in 2019’s fiscal year and plummeting to 50.5% in 2020 continues, assuming there are no more temporary closures:
- 2021: 65.8%
- 2022: 83.3%
- 2023: 89.2%
- 2024: 94.6%
So, for companies trying to change and innovate, what can they do?
Take the trend of transparency to the next level: Social change. “The consumer has gone from transparency to accountability,” Scott said.
Buyers and suppliers can ask each other what they’re doing for sustainability and how many women and people of color they employ in management positions.
Scott shared a relevant quote: “If it’s not good for everyone in the supply chain, then it’s not a viable solution.”
During the peer-to-peer section of the General Session, Adam Isaacs, foodservice brand manager at Good Foods Group, shared what the people at his table discussed.
“We came to the consensus that it is definitely never going to be the same, but it’s more of a better new normal. Everybody seemed to think that there is more collaboration, more data sharing amongst competitors, and it seems to be the better way. So, there’s more optimism, I’d say, acceptance of this new normal and excitement about it."
