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.
Joe Merenda — Co-CEO and president, Misionero
Joe Merenda took a chance on the produce industry when a family friend, Sid Verdoorn, then-CEO of C.H. Robinson, gauged his interest in a produce-sourcing or logistic industry.
Merenda, then in a role at the Coca-Cola Co. in Denver, decided to tag along with Verdoorn to learn more.
“He was a great salesman and convinced me to spend a day in the CHR Denver office to check it out,” Merenda said. “I instantly fell in love with the energy, the chaos and the people in our great produce industry.”
Merenda said a major draw to the produce industry was how the industry is founded on one’s word being a contract.
“If you worked extremely hard and honored your commitments, you could be successful,” he said.
What’s your favorite part of being in the fresh produce industry?
Our industry, and this is a double-edged sword, is still very old school. It is built on many small farmers and family-owned businesses that have grown and developed over generations. Even so, there are still opportunities for someone like me, with no background or relationships coming in the door, to build a successful career.
We get to grow and process the healthiest products a consumer can purchase for their families. We are great stewards of the land and realize that Mother Nature is unpredictable. But when things go sideways, that is when our customers need us the most. It’s an honorable business.
Where do you see the future heading for organic produce?
I think organic produce is no longer a specialty segment of the industry. We are a mature business that requires new thinking and opportunities to tell our story to the consumer.
We have a lot of competition from locally grown, controlled environment agriculture, and a lot of energy is going into regenerative ag.
I think organic produce is entering its next chapter, where supply is not the issue. This chapter will be more about keeping consumer demand growing to keep up with the increased production and quality that we are producing.
How do you see sustainability and social responsibility playing a role in the future of the produce industry?
Sustainability and social responsibility are the backbone of our Industry. We need to treat the land well and treat our workers well to succeed over time. We have a great story to tell the consumer. Still, we need to develop consistent measuring tools that we all agree will create an outcome that generates more food on less land, using fewer resources, at affordable prices while paying a fair wage.
We are making progress every day in capturing the data necessary to measure our progress, but it takes incremental change over time to create a more significant impact in the future.
What’s your most memorable part of working in the industry?
I know this is going to be a cheesy answer, but I am an incredibly lucky person. I have had the opportunity to work with some of the best people in our Industry. I have had great mentors along the way, such as Sid Verdoorn, Mike Rempe, Tom Minnich and many others. I really don’t think of our industry as work; it is more of a lifestyle choice.
I have made so many lifelong friends and have shared so many ups and downs along the way, both personally and professionally.
The produce industry is like a big, dysfunctional family. I love it.
