Aaron Fox is a “packaging guy,” by his own admission, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s heavily invested in the produce industry.
Fox, 45, came to work with the family company, Fox Packaging, McAllen, Texas, in 1994, shortly after graduating law school. He was a member of the United Fresh Produce Association Leadership class of 1997. He now serves as the executive vice president for Fox Packaging.
Courtesy Fox PackagingAaron Fox, Fox Packaging Fox also serves on the United Fresh board of directors on the grower-shipper board and is a member of the Texas International Produce Association board of directors.
Fox doesn’t take these opportunities to serve the produce industry lightly, and he’s proud of his involvement.
“Ninety-nine percent of our customers are produce companies. I very much consider myself as being in the produce industry, so it’s nice that the industry considers me part of their industry,” he said.
To those that know him, Fox’s passion for the produce industry is clear.
“He focuses overall on how the produce industry can be better, how it can evolve and become something better than what it was,” said Gabriel Cuellar, vice president of business development for Fox Packaging. “Some people just go to work, but he lives this stuff.”
Cuellar said the entire Fox family has been involved in the industry for nearly 50 years, but Aaron especially is invested in learning as much as he can about regulations and marketing strategies that help consumers relate to the products.
“He’s just passionate about customer needs and has a genuine interest in learning about their concerns,” Cuellar said.
Fox appreciates working with his parents and brothers, and he credits his father as his biggest mentor throughout his career.
“There is no replacing time and experience, and he’s been in this industry for a long time and seen quite a lot,” he said.
Fox said is thankful to have been raised around people from the industry.
“My first exposure wasn’t with retail. It was with grower-shippers. That gave me a huge respect for the people of the industry at that level,” he said.
When he first started selling bags for the produce industry, all the company offered was bulk onion bags for growers and shippers. Now, he’s expanded into making consumer bags, which are retail-oriented.
He says honesty has emerged as the most important business standard in his life.
“Honesty should be the foundation for all standards,” he said. “You can’t overpromise in this industry because failure may cause a chain reaction.”
As for the future, Fox knows he will continue to have big expectations to meet if he wants to stay successful.
“Typically the people in the produce industry are pretty high achievers, and they expect the same in return,” he said.
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