Editor’s note: The following profile is from the 2024 Packer 25, our annual tribute to 25 leaders, innovators and agents of change across the fresh produce supply chain. (You can view all honorees here.) This feature has been edited for length and clarity.
Bryan Barsness — vice president of sales and marketing, GrubMarket
Bryan Barsness is a seasoned executive in the ag and food technology industry with a strong foundation in produce, technology and leadership. A graduate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, he began his career at Famous Software, where he implemented ERP solutions for the produce sector and quickly rose to become the top-performing salesperson.
Barsness later joined ProducePay, where his expertise in sales management and technology drove significant growth and earned him a promotion to vice president of sales. His knack for business turnarounds led him to revitalize Linkfresh, culminating in a successful acquisition by Aptean, and later to spearhead rapid growth at ProduceIQ as co-founder.
Currently, Barsness serves as vice president of sales and marketing for food tech company GrubMarket. There, he oversees sales strategies for the company’s suite of artificial intelligence-powered solutions, including its enterprise resource planning (WholesaleWare), B2B e-commerce solution (Orders IO), AI business analyst (GrubAssist) and AI sales assistant for order intake via voice, email and text (AI Orders).
Based in Southern California, Bryan balances his professional life with a passion for football, baseball, sailing and scuba diving.
What sets your work and company apart in the produce industry?
GrubMarket’s remarkable success can be directly attributed to the tireless efforts and deep expertise of our dedicated team. The honor of being one of the 2024 Packer 25 is dedicated to them, because behind every cutting-edge tool we create is a group of passionate individuals who understand the complexities and demands of the produce industry and want to see a real, positive change in our industry.
Whether in tech or food — or both, our team has spent years honing their skills and gathering insights, ensuring that our solutions are not only technologically advanced, but also highly practical. It’s this blend of innovation and real-world experience as operators that allows GrubMarket to address the unique challenges that food companies face in ways that other tech firms simply cannot.
Moreover, the company’s success is grounded in the diversity of its team. From experts in supply chain logistics to specialists in food safety to leaders in retail and foodservice, GrubMarket’s team is composed of individuals who have lived and breathed produce at every level of the produce supply chain for years. This deep understanding of the industry’s pain points and opportunities has allowed us to develop AI-powered solutions that truly resonate with our clients, both internal and external. Our solutions are not just about automating tasks; they provide intuitive, impactful tools that empower businesses to make smarter decisions and thrive in a competitive marketplace. We then share our innovations to help our passion to digitally transform the American food supply chain.
The combination of our team’s hard work, industry expertise, partnerships and passion sets us apart and drives our continued growth, not just for our businesses, but for our friends in the industry as well.
Please share an example of a recent innovation or improvement you have implemented.
GrubAssist AI, part of the suite of AI tools from GrubMarket Software, is streamlining operations, enhancing productivity and accelerating cash flows. By leveraging cutting-edge artificial intelligence, GrubAssist eliminates the need for costly, complex business intelligence solutions and automates time-consuming tasks like detailed sales analysis, inventory optimization and customer communications all from a simple and intuitive conversational chat interface. This frees up valuable resources for produce companies to focus on growth, instead of endless reporting tasks. Its seamless integration with existing ERP systems makes GrubAssist AI accessible to businesses of any size, ensuring that even the most complex supply chains operate with unprecedented efficiency. GrubAssist’s ability to quickly analyze market trends and offer real-time insights using a natural language interface gives any company a competitive edge, empowering them to stay ahead of demand, ensure the correct supply and minimize waste.
GrubMarket AI, the overarching platform that is the driving force behind GrubAssist, also powers our other market-leading tools like AI Orders for automatic order entry and the GrubMarket Chatbot, which helps with supporting your customers, vendors or employees via an online knowledgebase. Our products are intentionally designed for produce to simplify and therefore revolutionize the way food companies interact with technology. GrubMarket AI products consolidate essential business functions into one cohesive system, utilizing deep learning, natural language processing and generative AI to enhance decision-making.
Whether it’s optimizing operations, managing supplier relationships or enhancing customer engagement, GrubMarket AI technologies deliver powerful, scalable solutions tailored to the unique challenges of our industry. With 92% of businesses investing in AI, Grubmarket AI helps both large companies and small companies alike thrive in an increasingly competitive market by offering the tools needed to maximize profitability and efficiency.
What’s your favorite produce item and how do you like to enjoy it?
Right now — fresh pineapple with Tajín.
