Mexican avocado marketer GreenFruit Avocados has appointed industry veteran Kevin Leap as director of sales and marketing.
Leap has 27 years of experience in the produce industry, working in a variety of sales and marketing roles at companies like WestPak Avocados, Dulcinea and Ready Pac. Most recently, he was director of business development at Frieda’s Specialty Produce, based in Los Alamitos, California, where he oversaw their robust national retail program.
In his new role at GreenFruit, Leap will be responsible for developing new marketing programs and coaching an expanding sales team to “continue to deliver on an expectation of quality and service for every customer,” the company says.
“Our company continues to experience rapid sales growth only three years since inception, thanks to our focus on grower direct relationships” said Brian Gomez, VP of GreenFruit. “Based on Kevin’s experience and track record of success in both the avocado industry and specialty and value-added produce, he’ll be instrumental in helping to take the company to the next level—developing new customers, along with sales and marketing programs that will directly impact future growth.”
Leap’s appointment comes at a time when the avocado category is experiencing unprecedented consumer demand, and GreenFruit says it continues to experience the same growth as a vertically integrated grower-shipper. Avocado sales continue to outpace other produce categories by three to one, according to the Hass Avocado Board’s most recent U.S. retail avocado sales figures.
“I’m elated to join GreenFruit,” said Leap. “Under the leadership of Brian Gomez, this young company has grown rapidly in a very short period of time and shown the power of grower direct relationships. The GreenFruit team’s energy and commitment to customer relationships is a perfect fit for my industry passion, and I know we are going to achieve great things together.”
Source: theshelbyreport.com
