Welcome to The Packer’s Fresh Take, a new column featuring advice and inspiration from leaders and innovators in the produce industry, in their own words.
Brianna Shales, marketing director for Stemilt Growers, talks opportunities for the industry, her most memorable career achievement, favorite produce and more.
Tell us about your produce roots.
In my last semester of college, I found out I would be 1 credit shy to graduate, so I needed to find a special study to get the credit done. My communications professor suggested a 3-credit internship. I wasn’t so excited about the extra time commitment in my last semester (especially with the most challenging class left for my degree), but I decided to do it.
I ended up interning in the marketing/news services department for the College of Agriculture. As that was coming to an end, the team there asked how they could help me find a job. I wanted to move to Wenatchee, Wash., where my now-husband is from and was already working. They helped me make some connections that eventually led to a meeting with Stemilt president, West Mathison. Stemilt happened to have two jobs coming open in marketing and I was lucky enough to get one of them.
I found out I got the job the day before I graduated and started two weeks later. It was a true blessing and has allowed me to grow personally and professionally but still maintain a balanced lifestyle by living in an awesome place like Wenatchee.
Hit us with your best advice.
“If you’re not first, you’re last.” It’s a quote from the movie Talladega Nights, but something that my former boss and mentor, Roger Pepperl, preached to our team almost daily. It will stick with me forever and empower our team at Stemilt to continually look outside the box, try new things and move quickly to adapt to the constant changes that come in marketing, and especially marketing of fresh produce!
What’s your favorite career achievement?
Being part of the team that branded and launched a new apple – Rave® – and bringing it to life through a consumer-focused road trip across America was so much fun. It was a chance to connect with shoppers as they tried a new apple for the first time, and what a meaningful connection that is to make. It helps build their first memory with your brand in hopes that they’ll take it home with them that day and do so again and again.
What’s the produce industry’s untapped opportunity?
I think brand collaborations are something that would be super interesting for the produce industry in the future. I’m so intrigued by some of the big collaborations that have happened over the past years and the brands that come together during these. For example, Lego and Ikea created their own collection with storage solutions. Any mom knows there is nothing worse than stepping on a small Lego. What a fun collaboration to solve parent problems and spark kids’ creativity. It’s such a great way to tap into a new audience or grow with your existing shopper base with a like-minded (maybe even non-food) brand.
What keeps you cool as a cucumber?
There isn’t much time to unwind with my energetic kids (and husband), but that doesn’t mean I don’t find time to unwind. I find the best way to relieve a stressful day is to hop on my spin bike before we start making dinner and get a quick ride in. I also love sitting in a quiet room with a glass of wine, or if it’s in the morning, waking up early and slowly enjoying a cup of coffee with my husband!
What’s your favorite produce item?
I love baking and that means apples and pears are high on my list of produce items to use in the kitchen. I love making apple crisp and serving it with ice cream. But cherry tomatoes are probably the produce item that I use the most in the few meals I make. They can be used in pasta, sheet pan veggie dinners, tacos and more. Caprese salad with cherry tomatoes, basil and burrata is my favorite meal during the summertime.
What should we add to our queue?
Over the pandemic I re-watched The Office! I hadn’t watched it since college. It was fun to relive during a time where office life looked very different, but also fun to relive after many years of office life under my belt. There are so many great episodes and one-liners in that series. I also walked a lot during the quarantine days and enjoyed listening to CMO Moves podcast that Nadine Dietz from AdWeek puts on.
