By nature, our lives are constantly in flux. And, in turn, we keep pace by shifting our perspectives on a regular basis in order to adapt. Like any life philosophy does, that ebb and flow directly transfers to our work. This consistent movement requires us to reassess not just our values, but our way of navigating the spaces in which we exist. In an industry where everything from weather to consumer trends can change your operation in the blink of an eye, staying on your toes is practically engraved in the job description.
As one of the biggest berry suppliers in the fresh produce industry, Driscoll’s knows this well. While the company has always straddled the line between operational sectors, its foodservice capabilities have continued to accelerate. This is due, in part, to its consistently high-quality berries, but Driscoll’s President of the Americas, Soren Bjorn, also noted that evolving consumer preferences have been a key driver of this change. The last decade brought about an overarching societal shift toward eating more cleanly, and consumers now expect this to be upheld across the board. Between a dedication to superb produce and a penchant for innovation, Driscoll’s is carving out a more impactful space for berries in the foodservice sector.
The trail to success is a winding one, but one worth telling nonetheless. And while I am usually the one to write it out, in this case, there could be no better narrator of Driscoll’s story than Soren.
Soren Bjorn: Our foodservice business is now growing faster than it has in quite a long time. Some of that is a deliberate shift on our behalf, but some of it is also about what’s happening with the consumer. The consumer is no longer just eating at retail or restaurants. Now, there are sectors in between the restaurant and retail businesses, and our foodservice capabilities are able to fill some of that in. There are a lot of out-of-home consumption occasions, and those on-the-go, convenience-oriented solutions can be folded into the concept of foodservice.
Whether it’s at a corporation, campus of a tech company, or even a college, the expectation to have berries on the menu three times a day is a pretty significant shift from where we were in the past.
SB: We have been studying where consumers are going for their food. There are places in foodservice where there is good value and there are places where there isn’t as much value for us. There can be really good value on a college campus where the college has decided they’re going to position the food they offer as a part of what makes them an attractive college for students. College cafeterias look completely different today than they did 20 years ago, while those at public high schools have not evolved much.
For example, we now serve 35,000 students at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst every day, and they can get various breakfast, lunch, and dinner offerings. I can’t think of a public high school cafeteria where that may be possible yet. So, we looked at where the consumers are and where the opportunities for berries are, then we had to find a route to get the category there, which is typically through foodservice distributors. Driscoll’s quality representation works really well for foodservice operators because they know they can rely on us and we have availability of all our berries year-round.
SB: I think one of the categories I’ve seen change over the years is strawberries. Previously, it was one of the only viable berries to sell in foodservice. The other three berry categories were highly seasonal, prices were uncertain, and availability was up and down throughout the year.
The big difference between foodservice and retail is once you’re in foodservice, you’re typically on a menu and there is an expectation that you can deliver every day—volume and price don’t move like they do in retail—price and volume are going to range depending on where you are. But the menu for next week is already set, and you can’t just say, “Well it’s raining in California, so we’re going to take it off.” Only in extreme cases can you do that, and it is something all parties try to avoid.
"...The expectation to have berries on the menu three times a day is a pretty significant shift from where we were in the past."
Soren Bjorn, President, Driscoll's of the Americas
So, you have to have a minimum level of supply to be able to fulfill your commitment to foodservice if you want to play in that space. Our raspberry and blackberry businesses are so large and the availability is so good every week of the year, we can actually put together valuable foodservice programs. This didn’t used to be true in the past, and I would argue it’s probably not true for many of our competitors, so we stand apart from most.
SB: Well, we wish we had more, that’s all I can tell you! Consumers are willing to pay for these surprisingly outstanding experiences. This has clearly been demonstrated with our Limited Edition line because we could push the price pretty high and consumers were still willing to engage. Some people turn it into a habit and want to buy it every day, which of course is good, but we could definitely sell a lot more than what we’re currently able to produce. This gives us encouragement that we really can and should continue to push the envelope on Limited Edition and see what else we can bring to the table.
We have some ideas in the pipeline, and as soon as we have something more concrete, we’re looking forward to sharing it with everybody. We are definitely encouraged by how the consumers have reacted to it.
SB: I think you have two things going on. For one, younger people coming into the category are used to experimenting with their food. They experiment with what kind of restaurant they go to—sometimes they’ll go really expensive, but they’ll also go really cheap, and sometimes they want to try ethnic food. So, I think younger people in particular are coming into the berry category really interested in experimenting with what is offered at foodservice.
There’s also the element of what product people are willing to pay for. Some consumers are willing to pay a lot more for better food, like cheese, wine, and many other categories. It turns out that’s true in the berry sector as well—already there are people who are willing to pay quite a bit more for a much better product. Maybe that isn’t very surprising, but it’s not easy to deliver on—this is the hard part. It’s a challenge to find something with high-quality and reasonable productivity somewhat under control.
SB: We have to find this subsegment of our grower group willing and able to pay extra attention to growing something special and differentiated. Maybe you have to slow down the harvest, maybe you have to prune the blueberry plants a little differently, maybe you have to go through and take care of the fields a few more times than you would ordinarily. You have to have people who are willing and able to go and make those extra investments to deliver on the products.
The mistake we used to make was giving a superb variety to everybody and waiting to see what happens. Next thing we know, this great new variety becomes average because not every grower is taking care of it like they’re supposed to. For our business model, we need to recognize some of these ideas are not for everybody. We need to find the people who can execute what it is we are trying to deliver on. Now, we segment our business further down, so we have conventional, we have organics, and we have Limited Edition. But we’re not likely to have any one grower do all three.
SB: The berry category is so volatile, naturally. The longer-term commitment we have to make to foodservice can be challenging. We have to deliver the consistency expected and commit to a price longer-term than what we are used to at retail. Then, we have to make sure both sides feel like it was a win in the end. This is the challenge—to get that balance right. And that’s why, historically, foodservice has been a relatively small part of our business. It’s very important we figure out how to get it right.
Some of the supplier availability issues we had over the years are getting easier, which is why it’s creating more opportunities to grow the business together. The importance of paying attention to where the consumer is going is really what’s at the center of this discussion. The produce industry always finds a way to meet the consumers where they want to buy product, whether it’s berries or anything else.
There may not be a crystal ball in which we can find the answers to unlocking success, but there is another kind of magic that exists in our industry: trust. It is the trust that our planning and hard work will survive the turbulence of change, and the trust that truly high-quality fresh produce will never go out of style.
From where I stand, Driscoll’s has earned that trust and then some. 
