PMA president urges the industry to focus on consumers
PMA president urges the industry to focus on consumers
SALINAS, CA " Bryan Silbermann, president of the Produce Marketing Association, told an audience made up primarily of members of the Salinas Valley produce industry on March 11 that they need to better understand that consumers are driving the marketplace.
What isn?t new, Mr. Silbermann said, is that buyers expect there to be quality. But it's the consumer who defines quality.
?The future won?t be "field to stomach," " Mr. Silbermann said. "It must be "stomach to field." "
With that in mind, growers need to acknowledge the role foodservice plays in the marketplace, Mr. Silbermann said.
?Foodservice shares the throne," Mr. Silbermann said. "Foodservice is a fundamental side of the industry, and we don?t pay enough attention to it."
Aided by the popularity of fresh-cut vegetables and, more recently, fresh-cut fruit, foodservice "is now as big as retail in consumer spending," Mr. Silbermann said. Consumers like the convenience of dining out as well as the decrease in the cost differential between dining out and eating at home, Mr. Silbermann said.
?Restaurants are saying produce is gaining in importance," he said.
The American consumer fixates on a food fad and then abandons it, Mr. Silbermann said, pointing to the low-carb diet trend. "There?s one-third of the number of people on low-carb diets as there was a year ago."
More than two-thirds of the American population is overweight or obese, Mr. Silbermann said. "Health messages can?t be effective alone. We need to marry food being good for you [with] tasting good."
Whereas once there was fragmentation on the buy and sell sides of retail and no large buyers driving the market, today there is consolidation on both the buying and selling sides, Mr. Silbermann said. In the worldwide marketplace, retail is evolving and foodservice is emerging as a strong force. The "new? retail buyer expects greater supply chain efficiency and demands year-round availability of broader product lines, he said.
The foodservice side of the marketplace is growing faster than retail, but is more fragmented with less consolidation, Mr. Silbermann said.
Mr. Silbermann shared other tidbits of consumer survey results. These included:
? Consumers want to be taught on the selection of produce.
? The under-30 crowd wants recipes.
? Consumers believe loose produce is fresher and better but that packaged produce is safer.
The luncheon " held at the National Steinbeck Center " featured Mr. Silbermann?s talk followed by a panel discussion, all on the theme of the state of the produce industry.
The event was hosted by PMA, Salinas-based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California and Irvine, CA-based Western Growers Association.
Panelists were Stephen Barnard, president and CEO of Oxnard, CA-based Mission Produce Inc.; David Gill, partner in King City, CA-based Rio Farms; Steve Junqueiro, director of produce and floral at Save Mart Supermarkets; Tim York, president and CEO of Markon Cooperative Inc.; and Bruce Taylor, chairman and CEO of Salinas-based Taylor Farms.
Several panelists bemoaned the transportation difficulties that are affecting their businesses. "This past year we?ve seen more product not arriving than ever before," Mr. Junqueiro said.
Mr. Silbermann related an anecdote of an East Coast buyer who found it cheaper to have oranges transported from Italy than by truck from California. Third-party logistics are where foodservice is growing fastest, he said.
On the transportation issue, Mr. Barnard said, "C.H. Robinson is our No. 1 competitor " not a packer or supplier."
Mr. Gill lamented a lack of promotion by retailers at critical times.
?We hit an oversupply of product, and retailers say they aren?t set up to promote," Mr. Gill said.
Were retail promotions more available, the consumer "could get low-priced product that we disc under," Mr. Gill said.
Mr. Taylor said that while there isn?t pressure on prices on an absolute basis, there are 25 to 30 suppliers for five or six buyers. "Consolidation on the customer side needs a consolidation on the supply side," he said.
Mr. York said that local is the "new organic," and that it is becoming prevalent to find people "partnering with a local farmer."
What isn?t new, Mr. Silbermann said, is that buyers expect there to be quality. But it's the consumer who defines quality.
?The future won?t be "field to stomach," " Mr. Silbermann said. "It must be "stomach to field." "
With that in mind, growers need to acknowledge the role foodservice plays in the marketplace, Mr. Silbermann said.
?Foodservice shares the throne," Mr. Silbermann said. "Foodservice is a fundamental side of the industry, and we don?t pay enough attention to it."
Aided by the popularity of fresh-cut vegetables and, more recently, fresh-cut fruit, foodservice "is now as big as retail in consumer spending," Mr. Silbermann said. Consumers like the convenience of dining out as well as the decrease in the cost differential between dining out and eating at home, Mr. Silbermann said.
?Restaurants are saying produce is gaining in importance," he said.
The American consumer fixates on a food fad and then abandons it, Mr. Silbermann said, pointing to the low-carb diet trend. "There?s one-third of the number of people on low-carb diets as there was a year ago."
More than two-thirds of the American population is overweight or obese, Mr. Silbermann said. "Health messages can?t be effective alone. We need to marry food being good for you [with] tasting good."
Whereas once there was fragmentation on the buy and sell sides of retail and no large buyers driving the market, today there is consolidation on both the buying and selling sides, Mr. Silbermann said. In the worldwide marketplace, retail is evolving and foodservice is emerging as a strong force. The "new? retail buyer expects greater supply chain efficiency and demands year-round availability of broader product lines, he said.
The foodservice side of the marketplace is growing faster than retail, but is more fragmented with less consolidation, Mr. Silbermann said.
Mr. Silbermann shared other tidbits of consumer survey results. These included:
? Consumers want to be taught on the selection of produce.
? The under-30 crowd wants recipes.
? Consumers believe loose produce is fresher and better but that packaged produce is safer.
The luncheon " held at the National Steinbeck Center " featured Mr. Silbermann?s talk followed by a panel discussion, all on the theme of the state of the produce industry.
The event was hosted by PMA, Salinas-based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California and Irvine, CA-based Western Growers Association.
Panelists were Stephen Barnard, president and CEO of Oxnard, CA-based Mission Produce Inc.; David Gill, partner in King City, CA-based Rio Farms; Steve Junqueiro, director of produce and floral at Save Mart Supermarkets; Tim York, president and CEO of Markon Cooperative Inc.; and Bruce Taylor, chairman and CEO of Salinas-based Taylor Farms.
Several panelists bemoaned the transportation difficulties that are affecting their businesses. "This past year we?ve seen more product not arriving than ever before," Mr. Junqueiro said.
Mr. Silbermann related an anecdote of an East Coast buyer who found it cheaper to have oranges transported from Italy than by truck from California. Third-party logistics are where foodservice is growing fastest, he said.
On the transportation issue, Mr. Barnard said, "C.H. Robinson is our No. 1 competitor " not a packer or supplier."
Mr. Gill lamented a lack of promotion by retailers at critical times.
?We hit an oversupply of product, and retailers say they aren?t set up to promote," Mr. Gill said.
Were retail promotions more available, the consumer "could get low-priced product that we disc under," Mr. Gill said.
Mr. Taylor said that while there isn?t pressure on prices on an absolute basis, there are 25 to 30 suppliers for five or six buyers. "Consolidation on the customer side needs a consolidation on the supply side," he said.
Mr. York said that local is the "new organic," and that it is becoming prevalent to find people "partnering with a local farmer."
