From Vision to Harvest with Gabe Romero - Grounded Podcast: Leaders in Produce, Food Service & Restaurant Supply Chain
Please welcome today’s guest, Gabe Romero, Salesperson at The Nunes Company! Gabe engages with Lauren Mitchell as they discuss his personal vision on enhancing customer education, a shrinking workforce, and optimization strategies in his region. Gabe also shares insights into his diverse experience and how that enhances his relationship with Nunes. Don't miss out on this exciting conversation!
Takeaways:
- Gabe’s vision was to enhance customer education beyond emails and photos. Researching food service companies revealed the need for improved educational efforts. Fieldwork, including customer interviews and supply chain understanding, resulted in SourceLive with ProAct, facilitating better communication about short-term and long-term industry developments.
- Where we plant and how we diversify our land, depends on the collective knowledge of many growers and shippers. They understand the specific product needs and may use transplants or grow from seed to harvest. The process involves extensive steps and quality practices before it reaches the restaurant level.
- The time for crops to grow and be harvested varies throughout the year, typically ranging from 90 to 120 days. For specific locations like Nunes and Huron, they have strategies to optimize the growing process and mitigate issues, resulting in a more efficient harvest within this time frame.
- Increasing labor costs due to California's rising minimum wage, fair prevailing wages for Salinas Valley harvesters, and growing expenses for supplies strain the supply chain, and impact businesses' competitiveness and their ability to maintain consumer-friendly prices.
- The labor force has been shrinking year by year since many experienced workers are retiring, and younger generations don't want physically demanding jobs. Innovation and automation are becoming crucial to address this labor shortage across the industry.
- Gabe's diverse industry experience, including roles at Dole, Taylor, ProAct, and as a buyer at Sysco, provides a valuable perspective in his current role. This is advantageous during the RFP season and in building stronger customer relationships in the food service sector.
- We're all human with lives beyond the produce industry. Connecting on a personal level, and fostering a fun and inclusive culture in the office is essential. This approach extends to all aspects of the business, from accounting to shipping, understanding the stories and importance of each role.
Quote of the Show:
- “Where we choose to plant our roots determines the rich tapestry of our land's diversity.” - Gabe Romero
Links:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabe-romero-57a25519a/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/FoxyProduce
- Company Website: https://foxy.com/
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Creators and Guests
Host
Lauren Mitchell
Lauren Mitchell is the Director of National Accounts and Custom Distribution at Produce Alliance, LLC. She is a dedicated fresh produce spend & spec maximizer for multi-unit national restaurant chains & groups. She gets to know your brand and infuses your expectation for quality, consistency and transparency to create more reliability in your produce category.
