AFruitfulOpportunity A Story about Foothill Produce
Robyn Watson
AFruitfulOpportunity A Story about Foothill Produce
Robyn Watson
For my mom who encouraged me to devour books and taught me to write for a reason.
For my dad who showed me how cooking is an expression of creativity and taught me to try new foods.
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Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank Felipe Diaz, an exceptional community member, whose work ethic and generosity inspire me. He allowed us to do the documentary project and supported our sometimes spur of the moment needs. Thank you to Saira Diaz, Gabriel Lozoya, and Maja Popović as well as the staff at Foothill Produce for their support. I would also like to thank my project partner, Tara Popović, for her support in interviewing, especially Felipe in his native language. A huge thank you to Freestyle Academy for helping me express my ideas through creative outlets and the wonderful staff who helped me find the deeper story and specific angle, flush out my ideas, keep at it, and try new things. Finally, special thanks to family: for their love for fruit and the many things I’ve learned from them.
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Preface
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Introduction
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The Seed
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Engaging Customers
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Diversity
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Priceless Pricing
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Organic Options
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Keeping it Fresh
Preface This is probably one of the largest projects I have ever done because it fully encompassed all three Freestyle classes. The documentary helped me to acquire many skill sets and I generally enjoyed the process. I encountered many obstacles, including going through four or five employees to find out if we were allowed to film and take pictures at Foothill Produce. My partner missed a lot of school days because she was out of town and then she got sick, so the weight of editing the film was almost completely on my shoulders, which made it harder for me to complete the paper and the hardcover book. Somehow, through lots of hours and visiting Foothill Produce many times, I was able to gain enough footage and pictures that are now in this book. One of the best things about this project was the opportunity to reach out to members of the community and explore how they uniquely support the world we live in. I didn’t realize that when I had gone to Foothill Produce before, the man standing outside sorting through cherry tomatoes was indeed the owner! We figured this out part-way through interviewing a customer and immediately got in touch. After interviewing Felipe, in which he shared his heartfelt experiences, he came out with a box full of avocados, strawberries, sweet lemons, and papayas for us to take home and share with our families. Not
only does he say that he does everything for his customers, he shows it through his generosity. So if you haven’t met Felipe yet, I invite you to find the man in the red hat bunching lettuce together or sorting through cherry tomatoes.
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Introduction Boxes and crates brimming with some of the freshest produce in town, from colossal jackfruit to carefully stacked cantaloupes, catch your eye and pull you towards Foothill Produce. A middleaged man wearing a red apron and sporting a matching backwards baseball cap stands outside on a used milk crate, sorting through a mound of cherry tomatoes in a quick but attentive fashion. Little do you realize, the man, Felipe Diaz, is the owner of the store. Walking inside, you carry a basket, squeezing past customers through skinny aisles with miniature shopping carts, maneuvering carefully as to not bump into anyone, but frequently failing. Thick accents melodically buzz all around you, giving compliments and asking about favorite recipes. The scent of fresh Hawaiian pineapple wafts up to your nose, mixing with the sharp smell of ginger root and angelic aroma of freshly picked peaches in your basket. You head toward the checkout, adding apricots and avocados to your basket’s growing pile, full of produce for the upcoming days. Placing it on the counter, you engage in a conversation with the cashier and the shopper behind you in line. As you leave, your arms laden with bags of produce and a crisp apple in hand, you make plans to come back as soon as you can. But why do you want to come back so soon? Most likely, it is because Foothill Produce is a prime example of a flexible business model that incorporates your needs and helps you enjoy your shopping experience. You have noticed that you like shopping at Foothill Produce and
possibly prefer it over other stores but are unsure why. However, you may have put some thought into the matter and have recognized the reason you love coming to Foothill Produce: you feel that as an individual customer you are important to the employees, you relish the opportunity to discover new food, you like fair prices, you’re excited by the different languages and people you can meet there, or you simply appreciate the taste of fresh produce.
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The Seed In the midst of farms, Felipe Diaz grew up in Mexico taking care of land and animals since he was six years old (F. Diaz). Felipe’s work still relates to land and food, even after he uprooted his family and brought them to the United States to work in the agricultural industry here. After working for some time for another employer, he was able to purchase Foothill Produce because of the rapport he had built with the former owners, who wanted the store to be in safe hands when they retired. Ten years ago when he bought it, he found a way to put his unique personality and work ethic straight into what goes in and comes out of his business (S. Diaz). The strong work ethic Felipe when he started working in the agricultural industry here still prevails in his work at Foothill Produce. Now he works eighteen hours every day, weekends included, in order to keep the store running smoothly. His daughter Saira Diaz says, “he’s a little bit of a workaholic… but I think that that’s fine as long as he’s doing something that makes him happy.” In the book Managing Value in Organisations: New Learning, Management, and Business Models, Donal Carroll explores the idea of a well-formed business that invites and flourishes. He explains the importance of a well-established business as one that makes a financial profit and searches
for solutions to challenges in order to grow. Felipe is a great example of being willing to adapt to the everyday obstacles that independent business owners face, whether it be running out of potatoes or being short-staffed. Additionally, Foothill Produce has been open long enough for him to build trust with his customers and to create a business they can count on. In the last decade he has opened two other stores in Cupertino and Sunnyvale, called Cupertino Market and Felipe’s Market respectively (F. Diaz).
“he’s a little bit of a workaholic… but I think that that’s fine as long as he’s doing something that makes him happy.”
Saira Diaz
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Engaging Customers Customers’ tastes and wants are unique and constantly changing. Foothill Produce maintains a thriving business by keeping a customer-centered approach in mind from when they receive truckloads of produce to when it becomes integrated into their store (Lozoya). If tens of flats of delicious, ripe strawberries from Watsonville are devoured within a week or maybe even a few days, Felipe quickly recognizes that the next time he goes to the market to order his produce, he will include a larger shipment of strawberries (S. Diaz). Hopefully, buying more of the delectable berries will continue to keep customers engaged and excited upon returning to find what they enjoyed most the last time they shopped. The key to attitude is summed up in his own words when he says that he sacrifices a long workday and tough labor because “me gusta hacerlo de corazón para todo los clientes. Hago lo mejor que se puede para todo los clientes que vienen aquí, que están contentos y que sigan viniendo [I love doing my job from the bottom of my heart for all the clients. I do the best that can be done for all the clients that come here, so they’re happy and keep coming]” (F. Diaz). Felipe’s strong characteristic of selflessness shines through his actions, as he places his customers’ needs above all else. This ensures a positive communal experience – a
happy medium that creates a link between themselves and the food they eat through shopping at Foothill Produce. His selflessness drives his work ethic, a passionate quality, which makes well-suited to run a business built on customer interaction. He continues, “No hay otro trabajo igual que el trabajador. Me gusta hacer lo mismo que todos y me gusta hablar con ellos porque así trabajo no más a gusto y todos le echamos ganas juntos y todos estamos en un equipo [There’s no other job like that of the worker. I like to do the same things as everyone, and I like to talk with them because that way I work out of pleasure and we all work hard together and we’re all a team]” (F. Diaz). As a manager, Saira plays a large role in keeping the customers happy as well. She says that especially at the beginning of her time as a manager and working with her dad, she has asked customers for their opinions to learn how the store or their shopping experience could be improved. She also goes to international food shows and other events to get the current scoop about products that could be incorporated into their business (S. Diaz). Foothill Produce’s idea of engaging with consumers is summed up in the following quote, “When you deliver exceptional customer service regularly, you go from being a discretionary entity to a necessity” (DiJulius). 15
Diversity It probably doesn’t surprise you that individuals from large households spend the most on fresh fruit. However, it may interest you to know that Asians spend 52 percent more the other hand, Hispanics generally come from larger families but spend only 15 percent more than the average consumer (Who’s Buying). The diversity of Silicon Valley often results in the culmination of various cultural backgrounds and ethnicities shopping at Foothill Produce. Employee Gabriel Lozoya says, “At any given time there are anywhere between ten and twelve languages being spoken… there’s Russians, Germans, Israelis… That’s what I love about it, even if it’s just a hello in a different language or a goodbye, you hear it.” You encounter people of all ages, from the toddler munching on an apple lagging behind a parent, to the elderly woman searching for dried figs and papayas. You run into people of all walks of life, which creates a diverse customer group. Every time you go there, this unique group of individuals creates a unique experience. Diversity trickles down into what products Foothill Produce provides for its clientele, anywhere from Russian crackers and Israeli peanut snacks to German noodles and pickled Greek vegetables. Yugoslavian store regular Maja Popović, appreciates the diversity that
Foothill Produce brings. She captures this feeling when she says, “I also love that they have these ethnic products; they import goods, munchies and other kinds of foods from other countries so you can kind-of explore a variety of interesting foods.” Customers often go to Foothill Produce to find a specific ingredient for a recipe that is infrequently carried by grocery chains (Lozoya, Popović). This assortment of distinct products creates a distinct atmosphere, something you can’t quite find anywhere else. But it also fits into the small momand-pop types of shops that many customers enjoy shopping in because they are able to explore new options and revisit childhood memories (Popović).
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Priceless Pricing You’ve been to the stores where there are two or more kinds of a certain product, say granola bars. Frequently, one is a more expensive box that sits next to the cheaper, generic box. Often, the generic box of granola bars looks sad in its one small, simply colored box next to the fancy granola bars where the box screams that it must be better because you are going to have to pay more for it. To get to the root of this situation quickly, people like to buy things that are on sale or that are cheaper, as long as they feel like it is still qualitative. If the box of generic granola bars tastes like rotten raisins, spending that extra dollar on a specific brand might be worth it, but otherwise, go for the cheaper ones! Would you refuse an opportunity to save some cents and save some sense? According to a 2013 survey of American adults titled “What Consumers like about Their Preferred Grocer?,” 54% of customers like their grocer because the store provides low costs, coming in close behind the number one reason, convenient location (Market Force). Customers are drawn to Foothill Produce if they see a sign for $0.29/pound sweet potatoes or Fuji apples on sale for $0.77/pound. There have no commercial ads, which makes sales and new discoveries more exciting. The main reason why Felipe is able to sell his produce for such reasonable prices is because of a fairly simple
principle: he buys in bulk. Essentially, he goes to the market and chooses which produce looks good to him and what he would like to have in his stores (Lozoya). Because he has three stores, and products don’t widely vary, the produce that he buys in vast quantities can easily be distributed to the nearby locations. Buying in bulk also drops prices so that Felipe is able to buy and in return sell it to his customers for cheaper (S. Diaz).
“54% of customers like their grocer because the store provides low costs”
Market Force
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Organic Options Another thing that drives customers towards Foothill Produce is the organic produce, which is reasonably priced. In the United States alone, over fifty million individuals bought organic food in the spring of 2016, and the percentage has grown by more than thirty percent in the last 6 years (Scarborough). However, this amounts to only a fraction, more specifically 16.4%, of all of the people in the United States (IMF). So what are the reasons individuals don’t buy organic food, specifically produce? Some people don’t eat organically simply because they don’t believe in it. Their claim is that there is not enough research to prove that organic produce is that much better than the ordinary fruit they buy at the grocery store near their home (Aubrey and Charles). But the larger reason is that the prices of organic produce surpass the prices of regular produce. For example, if you are shopping at Whole Foods and need to buy a red onion for that spinach and red onion salad you want to make for dinner, one red onion is going to cost you $1.99. Sure it’s organic, but $1.99 for one onion! You look up the price for a yellow onion, to see if that one is more reasonable, but it turns out it costs a whopping $3.06! You will find similar prices at other local stores that specify in organic produce, such as Sprouts and Whole Foods, the
organic giants of the food industry. It so happens that you buy your produce for the week and end up spending $100 for the basics. If you want to be healthy by making and eating food at home that is organically sourced, the cost is practically unavoidable, unless you research your options better. . Felipe believes that, “Muchas veces, es el mismo, no más el nombre de la tienda que es Whole Foods. Pero, como la gente no sabe, va allá [Lots of times, the produce is the same, it’s nothing more than the name of the store that’s Whole Foods. But the people go there when the don’t know (about Foothill Produce)].
“Muchas veces, es el mismo, no más el nombre de la tienda que es Whole Foods. Pero, como la gente no sabe, va allá”
Felipe Diaz
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The problem of price combines with the lack of accessibility. Because organic produce is more expensive to produce, it is produced in smaller quantities, which continues to make prices climb through the roof as transportation and costs are added. The organic produce is in smaller quantities only at stores where the majority of people want to buy organic produce because they think that it is beneficial or places like Foothill Produce. However, there are some stores that can sell organic produce for lower prices. How do they do it? They buy in bulk. Felipe devotes his time and efforts into buying high quality, reasonably priced produce in order to help those of lower socio and economic classes to be able to afford and have access to these wonderful additions to everyone’s diets. Naturally, Felipe wanted to include local and organically sourced produce, so he did. His non-organic produce is still cheaper, but most of the organic produce is not too far off. He is also constantly changing his prices based on the ripeness, demand, and supply, to create fair prices for his customers. At times, regular loose carrots might be $0.49 per pound, compared to the organic carrots for $0.89 per pound. Although the organic produce is still expensive compared to non-organic produce, it is still much cheaper than other organic produce at other stores. For most people, the extra $0.40 per pound is worth it because the produce is not sprayed with harmful chemicals, it is often more locally sourced, and it has been proved that organic produce has more antioxidants and higher percentages of other compounds (Aubrey). These low prices allow Foothill Produce to open its doors to anyone who enjoys eating, and who doesn’t?
These low prices allow Foothill Produce to open its doors to anyone who enjoys eating, and who doesn’t?
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Keeping it Fresh Most everybody knows that it is important to live a healthy lifestyle by pulling that squeaky bike out of the garage every now and then and eating those carrot sticks that have been hanging out in the fridge for a little while. Like previously mentioned, Foothill Produce is built on the qualitative and quantitative work that employees put into the business to keep it going, as well as the diverse group of customers they interact with and serve. It is important to take note that every business is a unique one, but it’s exactly what makes Felipe Diaz an impressive owner. So the next time you spy those luscious lychees outside of Foothill Produce, don’t pass them by; rather, step inside and immerse yourself in an environment could be the norm of your new lifestyle. When you check out, you won’t even notice that Andrew Jackson missing because your cart will be full of fresh fruit and you’ll step with a spring in your walk from the new memories that are piling up like striped watermelons on a bright, sunny day.
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Works Cited Aubrey, Allison. “Is Organic More Nutritious? New Study Adds To The Evidence.” NPR, NPR, 18 Feb. 2016, www.npr.org/ sections/thesalt/2016/02/18/467136329/is-organic-more-nutritious-new-study-adds-to-the-evidence. Aubrey, Allison, and Dan Charles. “Why Organic Food May Not Be Healthier For You.” NPR, 4 Sept. 2012, www.npr.org/ sections/thesalt/2012/09/04/160395259/why-organic-food-may-not-be-healthier-for-you. Carroll, Donal. Managing Value in Organisations : New Learning, Management, and Business Models, Routledge, 2012. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/losaltos-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1019393. Diaz, Felipe. Personal Interview. 19 March 2018. Diaz, Saira. Personal Interview. 22 March 2018. DiJulius, John R.. Secret Service:Hidden Systems That Deliver Unforgettable Customer Service, AMACOM, 2003. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/losaltos-ebooks/detail.action?docID=243077. IMF. “United States -Total Population 2022 | Statistic.” Statista, 2018, www.statista.com/statistics/263762/totalpopulation-of-the-united-states/. Lozoya, Gabriel. Personal Interview. 5 March 2018. Market Force. “What Consumers like about Their Preferred Grocer?” Statista - The Statistics Portal, Statista, www.statista. com/statistics/266681/us-consumers-reasons-why-they-prefer-a-grocery-store/, Accessed 4 May 2018 Mitchell, Dan. “Next up for Disruption: The Grocery Business.” Fortune, Time, 4 Apr. 2014, fortune.com/2014/04/04/ next-up-for-disruption-the-grocery-business/. Popović, Maja. Personal Interview. 14 March 2018. Scarborough, Nielsen. “Number of People Buying Organic Food in the U.S. 2017 | Statistic.” Statista, Statista, 2018, www. statista.com/statistics/228377/people-who-buy-organic-food/. Who’s Buying Groceries, edited by New Strategist Editors The, New Strategist Press, LLC, 2015. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/losaltos-ebooks/detail.action?docID=2122366. 27
Robyn Watson is a junior at Los Altos High School and Freestyle Academy who enjoys learning and creating many forms of media; film is her favorite, but graphic design, photography, and creative writing are close behind. The oldest of five girls, Robyn loves spending time with her family playing games and cooking. In her free time, you might find her immersed in a book, playing ultimate frisbee, or babysitting.
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AFruitfulOpportunity A Story about Foothill Produce
Robyn Watson