This column was printed in the May/June issue of PMG magazine. If you missed your chance at a hard copy of this beautiful magazine, you can download the digital issue here.
I noticed a theme woven through this May/June issue of PMG magazine. There’s a lot of technology, money and supply chain discussion, but really, it’s about one thing: the butterfly effect.
What we do affects others, and it can have far-reaching benefits or consequences. Are we a force for our company’s success or failure? And, are we helping or harming?
We could have no idea what the impact of our actions are. I’ll admit, this may sound grandiose. (“Hey lady, we’re talking produce here.” I know, I know.)
But a simple tweak to how you position your carrots (page 25) on the wet rack could encourage a shopper to buy and eat it, which could create a domino effect of healthy habits. That, in turn, could motivate the person’s spouse to eat more produce. And a friend of the spouse could be inspired by witnessing the health transformation. And so on.
Or, you can join the wave of ultrafast grocery delivery companies (page 16) transforming citified consumer expectations, which could affect suburban and eventually rural consumer expectations of convenience.
By spreading awareness of a cool fruit, you may be strumming the heartstrings of someone who misses their home-country’s cooking. See page 28 on specialty produce.
And we all know a produce buyer (page 8) can make or break your day. Or if you’re a buyer, so can a truck driver.
Maybe you’ll be so amused by Melissa Treolo’s column that you’ll actually order a pizza with pineapple on it (page 26). Or, you’ll be so swept away by Joe Watson’s column that you’ll thank your produce manager for caring so much (page 42), which encourages that produce manager to nudge along a timid produce clerk, who then goes for that promotion. It could happen.
We’re all part of the butterfly effect of the produce world. Let’s be kind and consider others. You never know how much it may help someone you will never meet.
— Your editor, Amy Sowder