MONTEREY, CA - The Organic Produce Summit is more than just an event; it's a culture. July has become synonymous with the summit in so many ways, providing an amazing opportunity for companies building organic platforms to meet with innovative minds and decision-makers across the segment.

“With over 1,800 attendees—including nearly 200 exhibiting companies and over 300 retailers and buyers—the 2024 Organic Produce Summit not only marks our largest event ever, but also paves the way for continued growth in the years ahead," shares Keigan Roos, Event Manager, Organic Produce Summit and Organic Grower Summit, New Hope Network, Informa Markets.

Over the course of the two-day event, attendees had a stacked calendar. On Wednesday, summit guests participated in a range of activities, from volunteering to help Brighter Bites pack 1,000 bags of fresh produce for families to take home in Monterey County to retailer and buyer field tours with Earthbound Farms, Driscoll’s, and Braga Fresh.

In addition to those valuable afternoon activities, Wednesday evening kicked off with the Organic Roots Pre-Reception for organic newcomers, followed by the always spectacular OPS Opening Reception.

“The Organic Produce Summit has always been and continues to be a space where old friends are seen, and new friends are made. There is a very unique and casual nature that encourages genuine connections, while also providing amazing content and a perfectly-sized trade show environment,” Chris Miller, Produce Director, MOM's Organic Market, tells me.

Thursday launched us into a morning of educational sessions covering topics from retail label messaging to sustainable packaging, snacking, and more. Along with the plentiful insights across supply-chain and buy-side challenges came a host of plentiful reviews as well.

“OPS is one of my favorite shows to attend each year as it truly gets down to the roots of organics and long-term agricultural sustainability for our industry's future. Finding solutions to continue to grow organic sales is just the start of what this show encompasses,” Caitlin Tierney, Director of Sales - West, Fresh Express. “OPS focuses on so much more, like how to educate consumers on organics in-store by using effective buzzworthy messaging, further reducing plastics for the department, finding ways to increase organic sales via e-commerce, and finally meeting all the growers and customers that can help support all these solutions for our industry. Like every year, I was excited for what I learned at OPS this week.”

During the "Biting Into Organic Fresh Snacking Opportunities" panel, members dug into the direction for the category. Faith Garrard, panel moderator and Raley’s Executive Director of Fresh, shared some thoughts on the potential for the segment.

“There’s an opportunity gap for us to capture more than we're getting today. What's interesting, though, is that what is driving some of that growth in snacking, in general, are things like convenience and the health and wellness trend…I think organic, fresh snacking has an opportunity to innovate and capture market share. We're talking about $135 billion now,” Faith informed the crowd.

Even more amazing reflections came down the line from panels discussing what strategies are boosting sales for organic fruit and the session for “How Regional Retailers are Growing Organic Fresh Produce Sales.”

Moderated by Scot Olson, President of the Northwest Division of FreshSource, retail panelists Jeff Cady, Vice President of Produce and Floral, Northeast Shared Services; Jilea Hemmings, Owner and Founder, Nourish + Bloom Market; and Jim Sullivan, Vice President of Produce, Yokes discussed how regional players compete in different geographic areas in comparison to bigger retailers.

Among the many shared anecdotes and philosophies, were Jeff’s thoughts on organic integration with conventional produce and overall growth.

“I think shoppers, they only have so much time…I just want to put it [organics] as close as possible so people can make good decisions. A lot of people think, ‘Organic, oh my gosh, it's way too expensive. I can't afford it.’ Well, now you're putting the price points next to each other, and they say, well, that's pretty palatable. They can make their own decisions whether or not they want organics,” Jeff shared with the session’s guests.

After Nicholas Bertram, President and CEO of Flash Foods shared his keynote, the Retail Fireside Chat brought moderator Kevin Coupe of the Morning News Beat, and featured pwasanelists Robby Cruz, Vice President of Produce, Target; and Patrick Haines, Vice President of Produce at United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) together to discuss the critical issues of the day.

The panelists discussed how the gap in price had been closing more and more between organic and conventional, and that this needed to be better communicated to consumers. The topic also arose on decision-making in terms of carrying both organic and conventional versions of a single product or how the retailer can better steer the shopper into an easier basket-building process. Supply-chain solutions and the desire for more innovation across growing practices, as well as transparency, were also hot topics.

"The Organic Produce Summit continues to create high-value opportunities for us to connect with our customers and build new relationships. Between the buyer turnout and the relevant conversations occurring across the two-day event, we continue to see a return on our investment at OPS," shared Anthony Innocenti, Managing Partner, LIV Produce.

If you can believe it, this eventful schedule all unfolded before the tradeshow doors even opened—packed with organic solutions, new products, essential conversations, and more.

“The OPS show brings an incredible lineup of customers to our area,” Dan Canales, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Ippolito International, expressed. “We look forward to this show every year, and it has become a great opportunity to not only interact with them at the reception, trade floor, and multiple events, but it is also great for us to be able to conduct tours and visits throughout the week while they are in our backyard. The OPS show is a staple event in our annual show lineup.”

There is a lot to be said about the impact of the annual OPS event and its ever-evolving influence on the present and future of organics. But of these few things I am sure: organic leadership is strengthening, collaboration is growing, and the path ahead is full of opportunities.