Today we’d like to introduce you to Ricardo Echeverri.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ricardo. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Everything started with a full-time tennis scholarship at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. I had to leave everything behind; my family, my friends and my longtime girlfriend in Medellin, Colombia where I was born and raised. It was a great opportunity that I could not pass up, but I was definitely leaving with a heavy heart. After four years playing NCAA Division I tennis, I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering. Just when I was ready to go back home to my family, I was offered a full-time scholarship for an MBA, provided that I tutored athletes and managed their academics throughout my two-year master degree. It was another difficult opportunity to pass up, but thanks to it, I graduated with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA). Once I graduated, I decided to give Miami an opportunity and immediately received a job offer at Fresh Delmonte Produce, headquartered in Coral Gables, FL. This was the start of my journey within the produce industry and the corporate world.
I started in an entry-level position as an Assistant Product Manager at Fresh Delmonte Produce, responsible for the logistics and product coordination for the Melon Program. As I moved up the corporate ladder into Purchasing and Sales, I had the opportunity to meet key players in the industry that later became the foundation of my career. Five years later, I was recruited by Bounty Fresh, a leader in the pineapple business and was offered to manage their Plantain Program. After successfully growing their Plantain Program I was approached by Turbana Corporation and got offered the vice presidency of the Tropical Program. As Vice President, I restructured the entire program by sourcing directly from growers in Central and South America. In less than a year, the program grew more than 300% resulting in an increase of product offerings from 3 to 18 products. This year marks my fifth year with Fyffes North America (Formerly Turbana Corporation) and 11 years in the produce industry. I am excited to continue growing the Tropical Program and offering solutions to overcome cultural barriers within these ethnic products.
Has it been a smooth road?
Leaving my family and the life I had built for 19 years was the “toughest” moment in my life. It was not easy to land in a small town in Macon, Georgia and start a new life. My college life was a steady balance between tennis, studying and working night shifts as a Supervisor in different computer labs through the University. Even though there were some rough times, I would not change anything as all these experiences built my character and made me the professional I am today.
Moving up the corporate ladder as an international student was not easy either since I was working under an OPT (Optional Practice Training) college program. After working for a year, Fresh Delmonte sponsored my H1B visa which I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity. After three years, I was able to obtain my US residency opening the doors for future opportunities and move up on my career.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
First and foremost, being an athlete and bilingual have been my strongest assets through college and my career. Sports opened the doors for my tennis scholarship in the US and being bilingual gave me the competitive advantage within my professional career. I also feel that a big part of my success is thanks to the discipline and drive I got out of college. Learning to live in a different country by myself with such a rigid schedule between school and high competitive tennis made me a highly disciplined and goal oriented individual.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Fyffes North America story. Tell us more about the business.
The produce industry is a great business to be in, as people are now more conscious about what they eat. It is very rewarding to know we are bringing healthy fruits into the market and helping people keep a healthier lifestyle. In addition, there is never a dull moment in this business as we are working with perishables products and have to deal with many variables on a daily basis that is out of our control. In other words, we need to come to work every morning with a problem-solving mindset. This is what makes my job interesting and keeps me on my toes every day.
Fyffes Inc. was founded in Ireland back in 1888 and proudly stands alone as the oldest fruit brand in the world. In 1929, the company became the first brand in history to put its name on bananas. In addition to bananas, Fyffes North America (a subsidiary of Fyffes Inc.), markets pineapples, plantains, and ethnic tropicals. The ethnic tropical division was the last program incorporated in North America in order to diversify our company and set ourselves apart from big multinationals such as Delmonte, Dole, and Chiquita. The tropical line is helping retailers capture the ethnic market, which is the fastest growing segment in the US population. Research has reported that Hispanics and Asian population increased 47.3 % and 51 % respectively between 2000 and 2012 and expected to triple by 2050. This is an exciting market to be in because ethnic consumers value fresh and high-quality fruits, eat at home four to five times per week and cook from scratch more often than the average consumers. They also shop about two to three times per week and spend more dollars per visit. Our goal with the tropical program is to help retailers optimize sales by capturing these growing segments of the population and help them stay ahead of their competitors by making their stores a one-stop-shop for ethnic markets.
In order to accomplish this, we have created a unique tool for produce managers to use. This tool consists of a Mobil App. that will allow retailers to login, learn more about the products, their consumer profiles, display ideas, and recipes. Also, it will give the produce manager access to discover relevant demographics in each of their stores’ market area so they can customize their tropical produce and cater to that population’s need. In addition, the Mobil App. will provide users with knowledge of the ethnic holidays so retailers can be equipped with specific produce for holiday occasions. So far, this tool has differentiated us from our competitors and created a great response from our customers.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Fresh fruits and vegetables will continue to grow as the general population keeps growing and people are more concern on keeping a healthy lifestyle. We are seeing big shifts to eCommerce as retailers are selling online and offering better and more convenient services to its customers. Online grocery spending continues to grow at a rapid pace, now making up approximately 5.5% of total grocery spending in the U.S. We are also seeing a trend in organic fruits with a growing rate of 10% year after year.
Contact Info:
- Address: Fyffes North America
999 Ponce de Leon Boulevard Suite 900
Coral Gables, Florida 33134 - Website: www.fyffes.com
- Phone: (305) 753 5422
- Email: recheverri@fyffes-na.com
Getting in touch: VoyageMIA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
