Beanstalk Global

In our very successful interview series "20 minutes with inspirational people from the International fresh food sectors", we are delighted to be joined this month by Nina Patil - Director of Fresh Express India.

Nina is a multi-talented and multi-faceted personality, She takes keen interest in farming and lives by the belief quality of a product is shaped by its growing practices. Nina ensures certifications like GLOBALGAP and BSCI are implemented in spirit and action on an ongoing basis, every step of the way.

Fresh Express export and promote Indian Fresh Produce, specifically Table Grapes and Natural Sun Dried Raisins, grown on our own and partner farms with 700+ small farmers. They have been marketing fresh produce from India across the Globe successfully for the last 27 years.

Nina is passionate about Natural farming where plants thrive in their natural eco system with the help of locally grown resources and minimal use of chemical fertilisers. Fresh Express use natural methods to retain and improve soil health, control pests, and increase yields, thus making Farming sustainable for the smallest of farmers. She strongly advocates Woman Empowerment, 95% of the work force are ladies and proudly financially independent. Nina has been involved in the fields of certification, recruitment, training, organizational development and performance enhancement since the last 20+ years. Fresh Express ensures certifications are not just a list of compliances but are lived and followed in spirit and action.

Beanstalk Global has partnered up with Global Women Fresh to create a unique monthly Broadcast interview series. This to further promote the great work they do, to gain them more members ongoing and additional corporate sponsorship as well as to assist them to make a long-term difference in the Global Fresh Produce sectors.

Next in our series, we meet with Giulia Giuffrè, Group Marketing Director and Sustainability Ambassador for the great Irritec business!

Born in Capo d'Orlando in Sicily, Italy, after graduating from Bocconi University in Milan with a specialization in SME Strategy and Management, she joined Irritec, the family company founded in 1974 that is now among the world leaders in sustainable irrigation systems. She started in organizational roles within the supply chain and sales areas, becoming in 2017 Group Marketing Director and Sustainability Ambassador.

Environmental protection, optimization of water consumption, respect for crops and the natural ecosystem are Giulia’s and the Irritec mission and their passion. A mission and a passion that is support every day both within Irritec and as a Board Member of the European Irrigation Association and through collaborations with the World Bank's Water and Agriculture department.

In 2018, she was among the speakers at the 18th Infopoverty World Conference, held every year in New York City at the UN headquarters, to present innovative solutions designed to fight poverty and achieve the SDGs.

She and Irritec have also joined the UN Global Compact Network, which selected her as 2020 SDG Pioneer for Italy, acknowledging her commitment and Irritec’s to pursuing sustainable development goals, protecting the planet and people's quality of life.

The conversation that we will have with Giulia will be fascinating. They are creating a huge difference environmentally and on a full sustainable basis through their dedication and ground breaking irrigation technology.

The planned Dole Food merger with Ireland’s Total Produce will give a combined entity that will be largest fresh produce supplier in the world with $10bn in revenues.

Over and above this merger, in the last 3-5 years, there has been a considerable amount of interest in the International fresh produce space from investors. Two key factors have driven the growing interest: weakness in traditional global commodities like corn and soybeans and huge consumer demand for fresh, healthy food. And that demand/desire for fresh produce is set to further increase post the Covid epidemic. Combined with this is the appeal of investing in agriculture/fresh produce because of the potential diversification opportunities as well.

But how can you find the information and the potential trends for you to make informed decisions or to network with those that will be able to assist you within International Fresh Produce?

If you are in the international fresh produce sectors be that running a business or as a potential investor, this Broadcast and Podcast will be a must listen to. We lean on the industry expertise of Craig McBain to give us all a view of what he is seeing and what future trends may be approaching us all next.

Craig has participated in and led change in a number of organisations across multiple industries. Prior to founding his consultancy business Persea, he headed up a vertically integrated multi-national agriculture fresh produce business. With operations in South Africa and Europe, the business was involved in the production, sourcing, packing, value adding, distribution and marketing of a range of sub-tropical fresh produce. With supply partners in numerous origins in South America, Central America, Europe and Africa, Craig not only developed deep insights into successful investment models for numerous high value crops but was also exposed to the vast investment opportunities that the likes of sub-Saharan Africa provides for long-term investors.

He has also worked in private equity, as the CEO and co-investor in a platform build-up. His formative career years were spent as a process engineer and then in management consulting.

Women in Food and Farming” is a group of professional women in food, agriculture and the land-based industries at all stages of their careers, who get together to discuss business issues, support each other via mentorship and advice, and help generate networks of contacts that might be useful to themselves and their businesses.

Founded in 2011 by Christine Tacon CBE, the group started back in 2011 with just five women and has now grown to over 400 members. Christine is known to many as the first Grocery Code Adjudicator and head of the Co-op’s farming business, she has just been appointed Chair of Assured Food Standards which operates the Red Tractor Assurance scheme amongst other roles.

In our current strange times, Beanstalk is very proud to offer our extensive platforms to allow Women in Food and Farming to continue their conversation and debate and to encourage new members ongoing to join them, be that on a virtual Broadcast basis.

Guest speaker: Emily Norton - Director and Head of Rural Research at Savills, talking on “The future of farming – making sense of Brexit, covid, carbon and food.”

Emily is responsible for generating and guiding the production of high-quality insight and commentary on rural property, agricultural policy and sustainability topics across England and Scotland for Savills. She is highly recognised for her presentations and talks on key rural topics and provides policy and investment advice. She is a 2018 Nuffield Scholar, and a director of the Oxford Farming Conference for 2020-2023.

Beanstalk is really proud to be promoting the great team at the Apprenticeship College and their Supply Chain Leader Apprenticeship scheme.

They are one of the UK’s leading apprenticeship providers and can help you to fully utilise your levy and develop your staff delivering a measurable return on investment.

As a team they deliver apprenticeships that prepare people for the future and that add significant value to employers. They adopt contemporary https://www.apprenticeship-college.co.uk/apprenticeships/ (‘Levy compliant’ apprenticeship standards) as the backbone of the learning and development programmes and use this to develop and accelerate the growth and learning of your workforce.

Many organisations in the FMCG and Fresh Foods sectors have seen massive changes in the stability and reliability of their supply chain over recent months. While these challenges remain ongoing, the demand from customers is increasing, with more and more people switching to online deliveries.

In order to cope with these unprecedented pressures, many businesses are rapidly recruiting new staff into supply chain roles. Meanwhile, more senior staff are being encouraged to take urgent action to boost supply chain efficiency and reduce costs wherever possible.

The question is, how do you support this vital team to achieve its goals while growing so quickly?

Enrolling your key staff in a Supply Chain Leader Apprenticeship can give them valuable skills to boost the efficiency of your supply chain – and that’s vital in today’s ever changeable times. And through them you can discover how you could start training right away using existing funds in your Apprenticeship Levy pot.

In our unique Beanstalk Broadcast with the team at the Apprenticeship College, we are going to learn how the Supply Chain Leader Apprenticeship scheme really works. We will find out how the expert-led course teaches a wealth of real-world skills that learners can apply in the workplace straight away and all by talking to key experts, hearing from businesses that have seen great “upticks” from deploying proactive training and understanding how the scheme can be funded by your own Apprenticeship Levy pot.

We will have on:

Tilly Allen – Sales Director at The Apprenticeship College

Simon Thomas of The Quantet Group - Key Supply Chain Trainer

Mark Burrell - Commercial Director of Moran Logistics

Sabre-Louise Inns – Senior Transport Shift Manager – Moran Logistics and Participant of the Supply Chain Programme

The Produce Marketing Association is a key International trade organization representing companies from every segment of the global fresh produce and floral supply chain. The PMA helps members grow by providing connections that expand business opportunities and increase sales and consumption. Their mission is to connect, inform and deliver industry solutions to enhance their members’ prosperity.

Each month, we will be focusing on a major area of South African fresh produce and discussing that all with the country’s key industry experts so we can learn and appreciate fantastic South African Fresh Produce.

In our second Broadcast we will be exploring the amazing and fast growing online marketplace development in South African Fresh Produce. The innovation and digitisation taking place around online marketplaces in South Africa and Africa as a whole in phenomenal. We speak to some of the leading business to find out what they are seeing and the benefit they can bring to the sectors.

Included in our speaker line up is:

Giles Barker – CEO KisanHub

Grant Jacobs of HelloChoice

Louis de Kock – Founder, Nile.ag

Three key industry professionals have come together to create a unique Group called, Healthy and Sustainable Food. This is to constantly examine what would be the results if people from different sectors were to collaborate on solutions to produce healthy, sustainable food ongoing. The Founders are:

Barbara Bray MBE – Director – ALO Solutions

Mark Driscoll – Director – Tasting the Future

Jacqui Green – Director Viridis Associates

Their aim is to improve nutritional quality of food and availability for all socio-economic groups in the UK. They will do this by bringing individuals from different sectors together for projects on sustainable nutrition.

Beanstalk Global is proud to be hosting a series of monthly Broadcasts for the great Healthy and Sustainable Food Group!.

Our expert speakers:

Dr Kyle Stewart, Dr. Robert Hancock and Rachel Thompson

Their mission is to change the status quo and leverage the talent of Women in Produce to close the industry’s gender divide by inspiring, connecting and empowering women around the world. And their mission matters more than ever.

Today, women account for 80% of purchasing decisions, but only 20% of the voices guiding decisions in the boardroom. What’s more, is that by 2030 we’ll need the equivalent of two planets to feed a growing world population of 10 billion people – half of them female.

Our industry is being called upon to feed the world more humanely, sustainably and efficiently – and more female leadership is a critical part of the answer.

Beanstalk Global has partnered up with Global Women Fresh to create a unique monthly Broadcast interview series. This to further promote the great work they do, to gain them more members ongoing and additional corporate sponsorship as well as to assist them to make a long-term difference in the Global Fresh Produce sectors.

Next in our series, we meet with Cheryl Thomas – Executive Director of Global Rights for Women and Nina Patil – Director of Fresh Express / India.

Global Women Fresh partner with Fresh Express to tackle Domestic Violence in our industry – specifically in India. Nina overseas one of the largest Table Grape companies in India. The work and training that both organizations are able to execute in India has been just incredible.

United Fresh is an amazing Trade Group. Their members represent the full breadth of the produce supply chain in the USA. From small family businesses to large international corporations, United fresh member companies bring together companies across the produce industry to speak with one unified voice.

As we as all know the fresh produce industry thrives on vital connections. From family businesses to global corporations, United Fresh has got a great reputation for bringing together members across every segment of the supply chain to build relationships that are as solid with a handshake as with a contract. They empower industry leaders to join forces to shape sound government policy in the US. They deliver the resources and expertise companies need to succeed in managing complex business and technical issues. In addition they provide the training and development individuals need to advance their careers in produce. Through these endeavors, they unite the industry with a common purpose – to build long-term success for their members, and grow produce consumption.

A number of international companies are keen to find connections to create new sales routes in the USA or to sell their products and services to the Fresh Produce community State Side! United Fresh is totally geared up to assist you to achieve that success.

On our Beanstalk Broadcast, we meet with key individuals from United Fresh to find out how they can assist you to potentially open up the USA as a market for you and why it will be highly beneficial to be a member of United Fresh to boot!

The panel Broadcast will include:

Mark Munger is Vice President of Sales and Marketing for 4Earth Farms, where he is responsible for leading the sales team, developing new customer opportunities and guiding the companies strategic direction.

Mayda Sotomayor-Kirk is the CEO of Seald Sweet and President of Greenyard USA. She has been in the industry for over 30 years.

Natalia Gamarra joined United Fresh Produce Association in August 2018 as Manager of International Members Relations, where she is responsible for leading the international market.

Wholesalers are becoming increasingly concerned that the government is prepared to let them fail, according to the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD). Their CEO James Bielby has been warning recently that a continued failure to provide urgent sector-specific support to businesses that supply the shuttered hospitality sector and schools risked creating a supermarket monopoly. They have been campaigning on behalf of its members for support including business rate relief, which was given to the supermarkets, hospitality and retail outlets.

James has stated recently in the press that many FWD members believed the government was deliberately withholding support from smaller regional businesses, which are currently trading at a loss having burnt through reserves to supply care homes, hospitals, prisons and key workers’ children. He added the consequences for jobs, diversity of supply and consumer choice was “devastating”.

The FWD has also drawn attention to policy decisions that it said favoured supermarkets. The trade body said the decision to take the provision of free school meals away from small regional suppliers and relaunch the national voucher scheme in the wake of the Chartwells scandal this month was “a final kick to an industry already on its knees”.

We wanted to hear direct from James to gain the current update and to understand what can be done to stop this negative situation.