Packer Fresh Take: Kevin Moffitt of Pear Bureau Northwest

Welcome to The Packer’s Fresh Take, a column featuring advice and inspiration from leaders and innovators in the produce industry, in their own words.

Kevin Moffitt, president and CEO of Pear Bureau Northwest, shares the opportunity the produce industry should take advantage of, his most memorable project and what new skill we should try.

Tell us about your produce roots.

After graduating from the University of Oregon with a business administration degree, I was living in my hometown of Portland, Oregon. A college friend who was working for Dole in San Francisco alerted me to an opening in the technical services department as a banana ripening trainer. I worked in their world headquarters, which were in downtown San Francisco at the time. I traveled around the U.S. and Canada teaching retail and wholesale personnel how to properly ripen bananas. Then I moved to the new products/new ventures division and ran a test market on fresh cut vegetables back in 1983. Eventually, I moved on to work in international marketing at a marketing group for Sunsweet Prunes, Sunmaid Raisins and Diamond Walnuts, and I moved back up to Portland when the Pear Bureau was looking for an international marketing director.

Hit us with your best advice.

“Don’t follow the trends, go where the trends are going to be.” I didn’t get that advice directly from Wayne Gretzky, but I modified and paraphrased it, adopting that forward thinking advice in my marketing career.

What should the industry take advantage of?

Opportunities are evolving quickly, and we all saw acceleration during the COVID-19 crisis, especially in online marketing. This shopping arena, along with social media, are the two areas that have big potential for produce. They are starting to merge with shoppable ads and an evolution of the marketplace. Produce can learn from big consumer brands about reaching consumers on these platforms.

What's your "silver lining" from 2020?

Practicing flexibility, getting more comfortable with change and adopting new thinking.

What project are you most proud of?

Inventing the reusable, recyclable pear packer was a memorable project that addressed a consumer need of how to keep pears from squishing in a kid’s lunch bag or an adult’s backpack. It is a single clamshell in the shape of a pear. We produced it nearly 20 years ago and are still using it today—most recently in a Walmart click and collect promotion sampling handing out single pears in the reusable packer when consumers collected their groceries curbside.

What keeps you cool as a cucumber?

I read books on a daily which helps me unwind. I also hike with my spouse Kim, and we practice karate once a week. Karate may not sound like unwinding, but it is a great way to work out any frustration.

What’s on the menu?

Of course, I love pears and they are versatile in many dishes from simple salads and sandwiches to appetizers and desserts. However, I eat a lot of fruit and veg one of my other favorite fruits are berries especially, raspberries which I eat chilled on their own and I have avocado in my sandwiches 3 or 4 times a week. For veg, I love a steamed artichoke with melted butter.

What new skill should we try?

I enrolled in an iPhone photography class during the pandemic and am continuing to learn a lot about composing and editing photos on my iPhone.

Tell us about your pets.

We have cats adopted from shelters. After settling them in at home, we name them mostly based on personality and looks. A couple of recent favorites are Zorro, based on his black mask over his white head and Kato who likes to jump out and mock attack like Inspector Clouseau’s (the Pink Panther) valet.

What’s on your bucket list?

I have been very lucky to check many things off my list so far including tracking and spending time with mountain gorillas in Africa, tracking tigers in India on a photo safari, riding in the Concord across the Atlantic and spending a night in an ice hotel above the arctic circle in Sweden. Still on the list: Hang Gliding. I have always wanted to fly like a bird since I was a youngster. A jaunt into the sky on the Virgin Galactic including 5 minutes of weightlessness sounds awesome and I also want to have a firsthand look at the Roswell files