Behind The Fruit - The Fresh Produce Podcast
The fresh produce industry is full of strong opinions and big decisions.
Behind the Fruit goes one step further and looks at the people behind them.
Through candid conversations with leaders from across the global produce sector, we explore careers, challenges, and the moments that shape how they lead. Expect thoughtful discussion, practical insight, and stories you won’t hear on a panel stage.
Episodes
14 episodes
From Marketing to CEO: David Baxter on Leadership, Hiring and Growing Natural Delights
David Baxter’s route to becoming CEO of Natural Delights began with an engineering degree and a facilities management job. It later took him through General Mills, food marketing and a move to the Arizona desert.In Episode 13 of Behind t...
AI, Data and the Future of Fresh Produce with Todd Gibson | Behind the Fruit Ep. 12
Fresh produce businesses are generating huge amounts of information every day. Much of it still sits on paper forms, in spreadsheets and across systems that don’t communicate with each other.That creates a problem for companies ho...
Building Apeel: Food Waste, Food Safety and Founder Resilience with Jenny Du | Behind the Fruit Ep. 11
Jenny Du never expected a postdoctoral chemistry project to lead to co-founding a company focused on reducing food waste.As employee number two at Apeel Sciences, she helped take an idea from a garage in California to a business working ...
Building a Produce Brand from Scratch with Nuria Pizan | Behind the Fruit Ep. 10
Nuria Pizan spent years building SanLucar into one of the most recognisable brands in fresh produce. In this episode, she talks about what it actually takes to go from a name and an idea to a brand people trust and reach for.She covers w...
From Desert Farms to Global Shelves | Arturo Hoffmann, Talsa Group
From Peru's Desert Farms to European Shelves: Building a Global Fruit Business | Arturo Hoffmann Harrison, Talsa GroupWhat does it take to build a multi-country fruit operation from the ground up - and lead teams across continents...
Building, losing, and rebuilding. A CEO’s honest story - Lennart van den Heuvel
What would you do if your business lost €100 million almost overnight?In this episode of Behind the Fruit, Lennart van den Heuvel, CEO of Fruitful Ventures, shares the reality behind leadership in the fresh produce industry....
How Equifruit Is Changing the Banana Industry, with Kim Chackal
In this episode of Behind the Fruit, Lucy Robinson speaks with Kim Chackal, VP of Sales and Marketing and co-owner of Equifruit.Kim shares how she moved from event planning into fresh produce, and why she chose to ch...
Leadership Across Cultures: From Private Equity to Avocados with Patrick Hook
In this episode of Behind the Fruit, Lucy Robinson speaks with Patrick Hook, former CEO of AVO America, about leadership across cultures, private equity in agriculture, and why mindset matters more than technical expertise.Patri...
Executive Hiring in FMCG & Fresh Produce: 30 Years of Insight with John Elliott
In this episode of Behind the Fruit, Lucy Robinson speaks with John Elliott, Founder of ELR Executive in Sydney, Australia.With nearly 30 years in executive search across FMCG, fresh produce and food & beverage manufacturing...
Behind the Fruit Podcast Episode 4 - Mark Brooks
The conversation delves into Mark's journey to leadership, his non-traditional route, the role of values, the evolution of his management style, hiring for growth and diversity, traits for senior roles, assessing curiosity in interviews, and de...
Behind the Fruit Podcast Episode 2 - Jorge Reig
The conversation covers Jorge Reig's career transition from finance to the fresh produce industry, his experience as a managing director, strategic and transformational work, managing teams through change, achieving growth in fresh produce, and...
Behind The Fruit Podcast Episode 1 - CarrieAnn Arias
In this episode of Behind the Fruit, Lucy is joined by CarrieAnn Arias for an honest conversation about stepping into leadership at the very top.CarrieAnn shares her journey from VP to CEO, what that shift really changes day to day, and...
Behind the Fruit Podcast Episode 3 - Ele Gower
The conversation covers Ele Gower's journey in the fresh produce industry, her experience in Ethiopia, and her role at One Acre Fund. It delves into the challenges of career progression, understanding good growth, hiring challenges, culture fit...