Steve Barnard, CEO & Founder of Mission Produce, in front of the lug palletization and packing lines in North America’s most advanced avocado packing facility, located in Oxnard, Calif
The nearly 40-year evolution of Mission Produce
From the ripe revolution of avocados to expansion into mangoes Mission Produce was founded in 1983, at a time when avocado consumption rates were low. Annual U.S. consumption was fewer than two pounds per person, and little to no data existed for European consumption. Back then, there were still green skins on the market, but there was also a rising awareness of the Hass variety because of its versatile flavour profile. “In the past four decades, much has evolved in the global produce industry, in the avocado category, and in our company,” says Steve Barnard, CEO & Founder of Mission Produce.
“W
hen I think back to Mission’s early days, we could not have predicted all the regions around the world we would be in today,” he shared. Nonetheless, Mission has been international from the very beginning. In the first year, Barnard met with a large distributor in Japan and asked, “How do we get all your business?” They said, “Don’t ever let us run out. Give us a year-round supply.”
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