Stay the course: goal of new NMB executive
Stay the course: goal of new NMB executive
Manuel Michel, the new executive director of the National Mango Board, was hired last September just as the board was completing the work of updating its strategic plan, which it does every three years.
Michel spent his first four months on the job shadowing William Watson, the founding chief executive officer of NMB, to allow for a smooth transition. In the spring of 2014 Watson had announced his intentions to step down from the position at the end of the year.
On Jan. 1, 2015, Michel acquired the executive director title and role, and he told The Produce News that the transition was very good. “We haven’t skipped a beat,” he said on Feb. 24.
With a strategic plan in place that sets the board’s priorities for the next three years, Michel does not believe it is his place to come in and make any immediate changes. He said there are still three main goals: marketing to consumers; conducting research and education; and interfacing with the mango industry and the produce industry at large.
The “stay the course” philosophy is evident in the NMB ripening seminar that will be held on March 26 in Long Beach, CA. Relaying the proper handling and ripening of the fruit to the entire supply chain has been an important element of the program since its launch about a decade ago. In 2014, the NMB held two ripening webinars, and this year they are following that up with a hands-on seminar that will be held following the March board meeting.
Michel said a high priority continues to be to improve the handling of mangos from the tree to the table. He said the seminar will have technical sessions as well as marketing and retail display discussions. Much like the banana and avocado industries before it, the mango industry is attempting to display riper fruit at retail to increase sales. He said the seminar is designed for anyone handling mangos, but especially for those at the retail level.
On the marketing front, Michel said this year’s consumer promotion program has a “soccer, salsa and snacks” theme. NMB is sponsoring both women and youth soccer to expose soccer moms and kids to the nutritional and flavor profile of mangos. The salsa and snack portions of the promotion will focus on additional usage ideas for mangos.
In general, Michel sees the potential growth of mango sales in the United States as huge. “The sky’s the limit,” he said. “We could see exponential growth over the next few years.”
He said sales continue to increase each year and 2015 should be no exception. “We do expect to sell more mangos this year,” said NMB’s head of staff.
