Four industry members discussed organic programs, the effect of the pandemic on organic sales, opportunities in marketing organic, the tensions of the triple-bottom-line business model and more in a Global Organic Produce Expo session Jan. 27.
The group also addressed opportunities in the coming years for organic produce overall and organic imports in particular.
Omnichannel is a key opportunity for organic in general, said Joe Barsi, president of Watsonville-based California Giant Berry Farms. There are many consumers, he noted, who don’t want to go into a grocery store, but they want to know where their food comes from and that it is responsibly sourced. The online marketplace gives more space for companies to tell the stories of their products than the traditional grocery retail environment.
Aaron Brookes, director of sales and marketing for Santa Cruz, Calif.-based Jacobs Farm Del Cabo, agreed that connecting with younger generations is important.
“It is about the next generation of consumers,” Brookes said. “At the end of the day, it’s the 20-somethings and 30-somethings right now ...They have different values, deepened focus on social issues, and (they) are going to be the consumers of tomorrow that we really need to touch and engage with.”
Chris Ford, business development and marketing manager for Mount Vernon, Wash.-based Viva Tierra Organic, said he also expects there will be continued demand among consumers for social responsibility and regenerative agricultural practices to combat climate change.
Another opportunity for organic growth is an increase in supply, Ford said. He noted that, especially in staple categories, organic penetration is likely to grow as other countries start producing more organic fruit, like Peru and Colombia for avocados.
Identifying and bringing to market varieties that deliver great eating experience is another opportunity, Barsi said.
David Posner, founder of Santa Cruz-based Awe Sum Organics, agreed with that and added that varieties are also being developed to have great flavor and better “shippability,” or capacity to hold up well during transportation.
As far as where more organic fruit will come from in the future, Posner noted that Peru has significant potential.
“Peru’s really emerging in a lot of ways,” Posner said. “I know they just recently had a little political turmoil ... but in general that is an area that has been a late bloomer in developing what is really a climate that is ripe for producing good-quality food.”
Posner noted that, in the Southern Hemisphere in general, there is a lot of land, a good climate, a labor force available, and that various technologies are making it easier to transport fruit from overseas while maintaining quality. In Peru in particular, the government has been supportive of agriculture and exporting, Posner said.
“As long as we keep in focus these other things we’ve been talking about” — soil health, sustainability, good social practices — “I think it’s really great to bring the organic practices into these areas,” Posner said.
Ford also noted Colombia as a growth area for organic produce in the coming years.
“My prediction for South America is Colombia is going to be the next Peru, emerging over the next 10 years,” Ford said.
