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BRIAN GOMEZ, 35 Vice President GreenFruit Avocados HQ: Newport Beach, CA
Hometown: Los Angeles
Hobbies: Sports, boating, traveling Personal/Community: Married,
two children
Motto in life: A positive attitude will over- come any obstacle put in front of you.
Work history: Gomez started his produce career at West Pak Avocado as a sales assis- tant. After six months, he was promoted to sales and developed the company’s Hispanic retail business. During his time at West Pak Avocado, he grew the company’s gross sales by $20 million, as well as expanded the East Coast business for West Pak. After seven years, he left to join Index Fresh to develop an export program they did not have. He successfully grew the company’s export program by opening up new accounts in China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. As Gomez began to expand Index Fresh’s export program, he met most of the Mexican growers and established great relationships. In 2014, he decided to leave Index Fresh and open up his own hass avocado company with one of the largest organic growers from Mexico. They built a state-of the art packing facility in Uruapan, Michoacán in 2015, and opened up the U.S. sales and marketing division, GreenFruit Avocados. Currently, the company has approximately 200 employees in Mexico and 45 employees in the United States. It is ranked in the top 10 avocado companies in the United States and boasts a vertically integrated model — from the tree to the shelf. Under Gomez’s leadership, the company has championed social respon- sibility and has built new ripening centers across the United States to service retail and foodservice customers. Gomez participated in the PMA Emerging Leaders program in the partnership with Thunderbird school of Global Management in 2013.
Q: How did you begin working in the produce industry?
I began working in produce at age 22. I loved the fact that I was working for a product that makes the world a better place ... avocados.
Q: What aspect of the business chal- lenged you the most early on?
When opening GreenFruit Avocados, the biggest challenge of any new business is your finances. It is just as important as the sales growth of your company.
Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career?
Last year, I was awarded Young Entrepreneur of the Year by Chase Bank.
Q: What advice would you give someone new to the produce industry? The produce industry is one of the most humble industries you can work in. You are dealing with humble growers who depend on us to do a good job for them. Be ethical in everything you do, and always remember if it weren’t for the growers, there would be no industry.
Q: What do you think the industry can do to promote more produce consumption?
I think we should tell a better story as to where the produce is coming from. We need to create better marketing campaigns that inform consumers where their produce came from. Millennials (I am still considered a Millennial) care about where their produce is coming from and how it is good for you.
Q: What was the “aha” moment when you knew the produce industry was the best choice for you?
When I started to meet the growers that are so integral to the business, as well as discovering the versatility of the avocado in years to come.
Q: What would you like consumers to know about the industry?
The produce industry is a very unique industry, where many unseen and unsung heroes are making sure the world has enough to eat.
BRANDON GRIMM, 37 General Manager/ Organic Operations
Grimmway Farms/Cal-Organic HQ: Arvin, CA
Hometown: Bakersfield, CA
Hobbies: Family activities, fishing, horse- back riding, paddle boarding, snowboarding Personal/Community: Married, three children, St. Johns Lutheran Church, board member for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Kern
Motto in life: Do what you say you will do, and treat others the way you want to be treated.
Work history: Grimm grew up working on the family farm, packing and sweeping carrots for summer jobs. After graduating from Concordia University Irvine in 2005, he began working in the organic baby carrot operation at Grimmway in 2006. He stepped into a leadership role at Grimmway during a difficult time following the passing of his father in 2006. As the only family member involved in the business, he helped keep the family culture alive and thriving. During his career, he has grown alongside the organic division as it experienced dramatic expan- sion. As a board member for Grimmway, he helps provide direction and support to the executive team as it seeks to continue strategic growth throughout the world. In 2013, he assumed the role of operations manager for Cal-Organic and was promoted to general manager in 2016. Today, Cal-Or- ganic is the largest organic vegetable oper- ation in the United States. He also serves as a board member of the Western Growers Association, and he has participated in the Future Leaders Program, Class III.
Q: How did you begin working in the produce industry?
The produce industry has always been a part of who I am. Some of my earliest memories involve riding around the ranch with my dad and uncle, checking on fields. It is truly
a privilege to be involved in an industry that supplies the world with healthy, quality produce, day in, day out.
Q: What aspect of the business chal- lenged you the most early on?
I love a challenge and enjoy prob- lem-solving. With the growth of organics in the early stages and being an operations manager, it was always a balance figuring out how can we produce more efficiently and better utilize the raw materials we have to work with. I carry this desire to help solve problems into my role every day.
Q: What advice would you give someone new to the produce industry? Nothing takes the place of time and hard work, dedication to your job and gaining experience.
Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career?
I am most proud of being part of a family business. Of course, in a family business there are challenges above what non-family businesses deal with, but at the end of the day, nothing is more rewarding than contributing to the success of the family.
Q: What are some of the more chal- lenging aspects of a career in the produce industry today?
The produce industry is dynamic and rapidly changing. At least in California, we are faced with ever-changing regulatory, water, labor and wage pressures (just to name a few) that force us to adapt and constantly explore why we do what we do.
Q: Do you see the produce industry as a united front, or is it more about the particular silos?
As in any other industry, there will always be pockets of silos and commodity groups watching out for their own interests, but as a whole I feel that the produce industry has banded together through various industry organizations such as Western Growers Association, United Fresh, local farm bureaus and many other commodity-spe- cific organizations to work as a united front on the many issues that challenge agricul- ture. It is this united front that gives produce the best opportunity to succeed moving forward.
28 / JUNE 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS