What is the single most urgent shift the produce industry must make today to ensure it remains sustainable and profitable in 2030 and beyond?
“We need to start treating consumer trust as an economic asset in collaboration with retailers. When trust breaks down in produce, the impact doesn’t stay with one company or one product — it can take demand out of an entire category, affecting growers, producers and retailers alike. Protecting that trust through food safety and process consistency has to be built into how we operate, because when trust is lost, the cost is shared across the entire value chain.”
Bobby Chacko is chief executive officer of Bonduelle Americas, the North American business of the 173-year-old French multinational Bonduelle Group.
A seasoned global consumer products executive, Chacko has built his career leading businesses through transformation and growth. Before joining Bonduelle, he served as chairman and CEO of the PE carve-out of Smucker’s Natural Foods, TruRoots, and prior to that as president and CEO of Ocean Spray, leading significant business turnarounds at both companies.
Chacko has also held senior executive roles at Mars and The Coca-Cola Company. He has a distinctive and diverse track record across consumer food and beverage categories, global markets, shaping commercial strategies, improving global operations, rethinking complex capital allocation and driving transformation.
