What is the single most urgent shift the produce industry must make today to ensure it remains sustainable and profitable in 2030 and beyond?
“Get closer to the grower. The industry has spent decades adding layers between the farm and the customer. Every layer adds cost, reduces visibility and slows the ability to react when something goes wrong. Too many hands in the middle can threaten both quality and profitability. The grower can’t sustain their operation. The consumer pays more for fruit that isn’t as good as it should be. Shrinking that distance, while keeping fruit affordable for the consumer and profitable for the grower, is the whole game.”
Scott Bauwens is CEO of GreenFruit Avocados, where he is leading the build-out of a fully vertically integrated avocado company spanning growing, packing, shipping and ripening operations across North and South America.
In this role, he is helping shape a next-generation model for the industry defined by supply chain control, year-round sourcing and stronger alignment between growers, capital and customers.
Previously, he served as CEO of Simpatica, LLC, a California-based permanent crop farming company with avocado groves across California and Brazil. Under his leadership, the company expanded its production footprint, strengthened grower economics and pursued strategic opportunities across the agricultural value chain.
Prior to Simpatica, Bauwens was vice president of global sourcing at West Pak Avocado, where he built and led the company’s global sourcing infrastructure.
He has served in executive board and key committee roles for the Hass Avocado Board and the California Avocado Commission.
