Editor’s note: The following profile is from the 2025 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.
Daniel Bell — Senior director of produce, Grocery Outlet
Daniel Bell made a decision almost 16 years ago, with his wife’s help, to leave Texas and return to California to take a job with “a small company, Grocery Outlet,” that he knew very little about.
“Scot Olson and Traci Lorber sold me on the vision and plan for the company at the time, and how I could fit and grow with it. Best career decision I’ve ever made, just ask my wife,” Bell says.
What does it mean to be honored among your peers for your contributions to the produce industry?
It’s a surprise and a tremendous honor to be recognized by the people you work with in the industry; it is very humbling and a lot to live up to.
How do you hope your leadership impacts the next generation in produce?
Our produce team at Grocery Outlet has very little retail experience or background in the produce industry, so the hope is that I can help them grow and shortcut the learning curve with my 35 years in the business. I’m also a huge believer in giving back, and hopefully, with our involvement with our intern program and a school like Cal Poly, we can help bring and keep the next generation of thinkers and leaders in the industry. I don’t think we’re going to see many more folks like me who started in the stores and worked their way up.
Fun question: If you had to create your own produce superhero alter ego, what would your name and superpower be?
The closest I would come to having a superpower in produce would have been as a trimmer back in the day, setting a wet rack, breaking a load and leaving the back room clean, well organized and easy for the night guys to do their jobs. Hands down the best job ever coming from the stores. If you know, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
