A powerful trio of keynotes inspires at Organic Produce Summit 2022

With more than 1,200 attendees and over 150 exhibitors, the 2022 sixth annual Organic Produce Summit, held July 13-14 in Monterey, Calif., was the largest OPS to date, according to the event’s presenter, Organic Produce Network.   

Following field tours and an opening reception on July 13, the event featured educational sessions and three keynote presentations before the exhibition hall opened on July 14.

The Growth of Omnichannel Merchandising That’s Driving Retail Sales

John Ruane, senior vice president and chief omnichannel merchandising officer of The Giant Company,

kicked off the trio of keynotes with a presentation on how courting the omnichannel shopper is an opportunity for suppliers and retailers to increase sales of organic produce.

Organic produce omnichannel customers are among the most valuable, said Ruane. They spend more annually, shop more frequently and spend more per trip than in-store-only shoppers.

And while pre-pandemic shoppers said they wanted to pick out their own produce in-store rather than order it online, now, they don’t say it or they don’t say it as often, said Ruane, adding that the Giant Co.’s total e-commerce sales increased 350% and are expected to rise to 700% compared to its digital sales before COVID-19.

“Is e-commerce a danger or an opportunity? For me, it’s an opportunity,” Ruane said.

Empowering the World to Stop Ocean Plastic

“Produce is as great as it’s ever been because of the [packaging] material,” said David Katz of Plastic Bank,

the second keynote speaker. “It’s not the plastic [that’s the problem]; it’s us.”

Identifying the correlation between poverty and marine debris, much of which is plastic, Katz founded the Vancouver, British Columbia-based Plastic Bank as a for-profit social enterprise that builds recycling ecosystems in underdeveloped communities in an effort to fight both plastic pollution in oceans, as well as high poverty levels in developing countries.

Plastic Bank mobilizes communities to recycle and earn an income and access to social programs from their efforts.

With the “Greta generation,” said Katz, referring to Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, it’s not enough for companies to simply do less damage to the environment than the year before. Companies need to repair the damage that’s been done and “be part of the solution; not the pollution.”

The Future of Grocery Retailing

Moderated by Walter Robb, principal of Stonewall Robb Advisors, senior executive partner at S2G Ventures and former co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, the Future of Grocery Retailing keynote brought together Michael Schutt, director of produce and floral for Raley's; Jeff Cady, director of produce and floral for Tops Friendly Markets; and Edmund LaMacchia, introduced by Robb as “the father and mother of Whole Foods’ produce program.”

The informal, yet compelling, conversation touched on topics ranging from lessons learned during COVID-19 to food as medicine.

Everyone across the supply chain rose to the occasion at

the start of the pandemic and “flipped into overdrive to feed people,” said Cady, who also noted that the onset of the pandemic inspired shoppers to buy more produce for its health benefits. Customers filled

their baskets with items such as citrus, turmeric and ginger root, and continue to buy more produce today.

The grocery industry is poised to sell the heck out of organic, said LaMacchia, who noted that, despite inflation and rising food costs, it still costs 20% less to eat at home than to eat out, which is a tremendous opportunity for retailers.

As consumers have sought out produce to boost immunity and overall wellness throughout the pandemic, the concept of food as medicine has begun to take hold, the panelists agreed.

I’ll make a “bold prediction” that food and medicine converge in the next five years, said Robb, pointing to the pace of science and the powerful health benefits of produce as accelerators.

“Everyone is in a different place on the wellness journey,” said Schutt. It’s imperative that retailers are walking their customers down that path — maybe a little ahead to guide them, but not dragging them.