2024 Women in Produce: Frances Dillard

How do you define success? The answer and ingredients are as unique as the women profiled on the pages within The Packer's 15th annual Women in Produce, honoring eight industry leaders playing pivotal roles in the success of their own organizations as well as supporting the future of agriculture, embracing crazy big ideas, having a positive impact and lifting up farmers and the fresh produce industry as a whole.

This year's honorees are moving the industry forward and inspiring future generations to do the same.

Frances Dillard is vice president of marketing at Driscoll's, one of the world's largest produce companies and one of America's Top 10 Retail Grocery Brands. Dillard leads brand and category growth through brand management, performance marketing, omnichannel, corporate communications and thought leadership. 

The Packer asked Dillard about her background and her work with Driscoll's.

The Packer: Who has served as a mentor to you in your career?

Dillard: My parents were Greek immigrants to this country, and they instilled in me a strong work ethic and a belief that a higher level of education would open up opportunities. That is a type of mentorship that helped me focus my priorities. My father passed away before I completed my MBA, but I know he would have been proud.

In addition, I've been happily married for more than 37 years, and the support of a partner who thrives on mutual success is critical. We all define career success in different ways, so understanding your needs and the needs of your family are important. 

I've been fortunate to have several memorable mentors who not only provided guidance and advice, but also took a chance on my skill set as I changed industries a handful of times. 
 
What brings you joy in the work you do?

I find great satisfaction working on brand or products that can have a larger, positive impact on society. Whether it's healthy food, kids' educational products or new ways to help parents, I've chosen companies and brands with that vision in mind. When you had the magic of a high-performing team that achieved goals together, that is super rewarding.
 
What experiences/people in your life have given you the confidence to take on big challenges and succeed?

I'm not sure it's confidence that allows someone to take on big challenges and succeed. It's curiosity to try new things and willingness to fail. It's the Albert Einstein saying: "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
 
What is an industry or societal issue that you are passionate about?

The constant thread or theme of my career is empowering children for a better future. While I don't have children of my own, I've spent a significant amount of my career around products that empower caregivers to give their children a happier and healthier life. When it comes to food, fresh berries epitomize the joy of flavor and a healthier diet.

What is the work involved in telling a marketing story for a big brand like Driscoll's?

To successfully drive long-term brand differentiation and category growth, marketing needs to excel at three core areas:

• Brand management and compelling storytelling driven by the clarity of a brand purpose — Driscoll's is a global company growing berries with independent growers in approximately 21 countries and sold in 48. Our growth strategy is to focus on flavor and the joy consumption brings our consumers. That is our universal global positioning, and all our storytelling must go through that North Star.
• Data-driven decision making to better understand consumer behavior, market trends, and campaign effectiveness — Driscoll's has always been focused on the needs of the consumer and the macrotrend impacting our business. The Gen Z demographic will be the most disruptive in how reach and connect with this consumer segment. We are constantly evolving and evaluating our strategy and the foundation must be measurable KPIs and data driven insights.
• Ability to leverage technology and effectively build a MarTech stack to measure performance and drive innovation — The MarTech stats are mindboggling. A recent industry report highlighted 14,106 MarTech solutions, expanding 41.8% CAGR across advertising, content, social, commerce and data management. Given the consumer's path-to-purchase is constantly changing by new purchase patterns, platforms and products, Driscoll's marketing has stayed competitive by staying on top of the evolving tech and landscape, knowing our consumers and understanding their purchase drivers.

Across all of these three areas above, as a brand, we feel fortunate that our company's mission embodies flavor, the No. 1 purchase driver: Mission to continually delight our consumers through the alignment of customers and growers. We have dedicated teams across digital, shopper marketing, brand experiential, merchandising and corporate social responsibility marketing. All teams work together collaboratively across the core areas and combine the synergy of their subject matter expertise.
 

Meet the rest of The Packer's 2024 Women in Produce honorees:

• April Flowers, marketing director, Lone Star Citrus Growers.
• Cynthia Haskins, president and CEO, New York Apple Association.
• Sandi Kronick, CEO and co-founder, Happy Dirt.
• Christine Moseley, founder and CEO, Full Harvest.
• Tara Murray, vice president of marketing, Fresh Innovations/Yo Quiero Brands.
• Julie Olivarria, vice president, produce, Sysco.
• Jen Velasquez, vice president marketing, Full Tilt Marketing.