Los Angeles-based Pacific Trellis Fruit has hired Jay Schneider as its East Coast head of sales.
Schneider will be responsible for the sales team leadership of the New Jersey sales office as well as driving business strategy. Pacific Trellis Fruit is a year-round importer, grower and marketer of fruit, owner of Dulcinea consumer brand and has sales offices in Fresno, Calif., Gloucester, N.J. and Tucson, Ariz.
“Jay brings with him an unmatched enthusiasm and infectious energy for the produce industry, as well as an encyclopedic knowledge of retail buying, merchandising and brand strategy,” Josh Leichter, chief executive officer of Pacific Trellis Fruit, said in a news release.
Schneider brings with him almost 40 years of experience leading sales teams at Acme Stores, Albertsons and Gorillas. Most recently, Schneider held a leadership role at Gorillas, an online grocer, where he was the head of buying.
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In his first role at Acme, Schneider worked for 38 years and served as produce director for over 10 years, responsible for produce sales and merchandising. After Acme and Safeway merged, he became director of merchandising for the newly formed Mid-Atlantic region, supervising the store merchandising and sales strategy.
“I am extremely excited for the opportunity to join the Pacific Trellis Fruit team to help grow the business and to get back full-time to my passion, the produce industry,” Schneider said in the release.
“We are pleased to welcome Jay to our team,” Leichter said. “He will assist our team’s efforts and strategy to continue to elevate our business, as well as grow the Dulcinea brand with high-quality products targeting flavor and consumer satisfaction, all while providing first-class customer service.”
