PBH conference highlights collaboration in the freshest, most fun ways

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Amid fragrant jasmine, intense sunshine and a Camelback Mountain backdrop, produce-centric social media marketers and retail dietitians mingled with suppliers and C-suite executives at Produce for Better Health's Consumer Connection Conference.

This 2023 show was the first since PBH merged with International Fresh Produce Association, becoming the Foundation for Fresh Produce.

And the IFPA leadership presence was more prevalent than ever.

“Ultimately, the foundation exists to create a healthier world, and we do that by changing the trajectory of human health. That is what collectively — collaboration is the new currency —we’re taking on. Because if the people in this room don’t do that, who will?” said Cathy Burns, CEO of IFPA, at the opening session.

At the first networking event, a VIP party hosted by Newark, N.J.-based indoor vertical grower AeroFarms, Anna Fagan, social media marketing associate at AeroFarms, chatted with Kelvin Beachum, offensive tackle for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.

Beachum is an AeroFarms investor who believes in the company's community-building and sustainability mission — plus he likes the greens. He's also Feeding America's entertainment council member.

“I’ve been a fan of AeroFarms since I played with the Jets,” Beachum said. “When you think about all things sustainable, it's what they do. Plus, I like the nutrition and efforts at improving communities.”

This Arizona event, running April 10-12, hosts the produce tastemakers, said Sharese Roper, director of PBH industry and partner engagement at IFPA.

“You’re the influencers who are talking to fans at retail, foodservice and online: Point of sale, flavor and inspiration,” Roper said.

Roper and Katie Calligaro, PBH director of marketing and communications for IFPA, acted as emcees. Their energy set the conference’s tone of light-heartedness, passion and powerful insights.

PBH’s influencer network is 300 strong, with 50 Have a Plant ambassadors creating content, Calligaro said.

“Nobody puts broccoli in a corner, here,” she said. “How we communicate — the words, the visuals — that matters.”

Calligaro reminded the crowd that: Habit = ease + reward + repetition.

“That, my friends, is the anatomy of a habit and the way to move the needle on produce consumption,” she said.

Jokes about butter boards and kale wove throughout the event, illuminating how we can use humor even while addressing critical health and produce access issues for the nation.

Session topics ranged from creating viral social media posts, crafting culturally inclusive content and traversing the wellness tension to proactive approaches to mental health, the C-suite focus on produce consumption and kitchen hacks that actually stick.

Tessa Nguyen discussed the difference between misinformation, which is often unintentional error, and disinformation, which is intentional. Nguyen is an internationally acclaimed chef, registered dietitian, founder and principal of Taste Nutrition Consulting.

“We know mis- and disinformation are more prevalent than ever in this social media world we live in,” Nguyen said.

Beau Coffron gave tips for encouraging children to eat produce. Capitalizing on his dad duties at home, Coffron created the Lunchbox Dad website, and his @LunchBoxDad social media presence includes 106,000 Instagram followers. He’s been featured in national consumer media and TV programs such as “Good Morning America” and “The Steve Harvey Show.”

One of his hacks: “Everything is better on a stick,” Coffron said, as the crowd laughed.

Stacy Bates, director of wellness nutrition strategy at San Antonio-based H-E-B, said she’d like to see representatives from insurance companies attend future shows. Bates, along with three other retail dietitians and digital strategists, discussed in one panel how retailers are taking action on health and hunger. Examples included produce prescriptions, e-commerce nutrient data and medically tailored meals.

“Our retail dietitians are doing what we do well, which is help Texans think about food, or translate the science of nutrition into food and what they’re putting in their baskets,” said Bates, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator, in a panel chat.

At one networking event, several retail dietitians chatted about the struggle to package nutrition information in a succinct, marketable way at point of sale while avoiding medical claims with potential for legal trouble.

These conference attendees are advocates for produce, said CarrieAnn Arias, vice president of marketing for Salinas, Calif.-based Naturipe Farms, in the first session, called “Future of the Foundation's Impact on Produce Consumption.” Arias is past PBH chairperson of the board and a Foundation for Fresh Produce board member.

“We’re not selling cigarettes here, right? You’re competitors in the influencer space and in the grower-shipper space. But in this room, we’re coming together, standing side by side, whether it’s in D.C., in this room or on social media to further this vision,” Arias said.

“It is possible, it is urgent and it is inevitable.”