January 2022: Podcast Month in Review
Feb 04, 2022
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Let’s take a look back at our January 2022 Podcast Episodes.
We started the new year with great insight, predictions and understanding of what 2022 will look like for us as Produce Moms! From technological innovations, partnerships between retailers and restaurants and predictions behind our supply chain issues, January sheds some incredible light on what buying food will look like in the U.S. this year.
What better way to start January than with one of our favorite returning guests, Brittain Ladd. Brittain is a produce and grocery retail industry expert with tons of predictions and foresight into the future of buying food. Brittain shares with us how grocery retailers are going to start automating the process of purchasing groceries from your home. Soon, you’ll be able to use a “smart cart” remotely from your home, operating its “arms” to pick out high-quality produce without you being at the grocery store.
Speaking of innovative processes, Michelle Huff’s company with Bare Beans is taking the struggle out of enjoying flavorful, fresh, healthy beans with that scratch-made taste we all love! Instead of soaking beans overnight (or trying to remember to do so!), or resorting to beans from a can that are filled with mystery ingredients and high sodium, Michelle’s Bare Beans ready-to-eat packets are a great way to enjoy beans quickly as a snack or addition to your meal.
The supply chain issue is something we’ve all been affected by, and Ryan Atwood from H&A Farms and Ryan Lockman from North Bay Produce share with us what’s really going on. From top to bottom, the produce supply chain is being affected by high costs, inflation, lack of workers and transportation, issues with packaging, lead times and more. There are, however, a few things we can do as consumers to help alleviate the issue and get our supply chain back to normal.
We know you love enjoying fresh, healthy, leafy greens that are readily available any time, and if it wasn’t for Tanimura & Antle, this might not be possible! Two families came together after World War Two to do what they did best: sell fresh lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and celery and ended up with a global company supplying greenhouse grown, artisanal produce around the world. Brian Antle shares with us the history behind his family’s incredible company, details about their delicious produce and more.
Pamela Riemenschneider is an industry catalyst and insider you’ll definitely want to listen to. Pamela shares her insight into 2022’s trends and changes to grocery retail, restaurants and our food supply chain. Get ready for more convenient ways to enjoy restaurant-quality meals. Restaurants are shifting their menu and availability, while still offering ways for you to enjoy your favorite meals at home. Ghost kitchens, retailer collaborations and more are all making it more easy and more convenient for us to enjoy the foods we love.
January 2002 Podcast Episode 194
Grocery industry expert Brittain Ladd fills us in on what to expect for 2022 and the future of grocery retail.
Brittain Ladd joins us once again to share his incredible insight and foresight into the future of what we can expect when shopping for food or groceries (in-store or virtual!). Brittain is known for raising eyebrows and predicting changes that many don’t agree with first, but eventually happen.
So what does 2022 and beyond look like according to Brittain? First, we’re going to see a massive shift in technology, the use of artificial intelligence, robotics, automation and more. You’ll eventually be able to shop from home via video controlling your shopping cart at the grocery store. The metaverse will be transforming how we do our shopping and grocery stores will continue to partner with restaurants and micro fulfillment centers where they’ll use robotic systems to complete orders.
Get ready for a whole transformation in how we shop retail or purchase food and listen to Brittain’s episode for more insight!
January 2022 Podcast Episode 195
Fall in love with beans again thanks to Michelle Huff’s company Bare Beans.
You probably love the great taste and flavor of scratch-made quality beans, but not how long it takes to make them! Soaking beans overnight or having to resort to a can that’s full of sodium and mystery ingredients is now a thing of the past. Michelle Huff came up with the incredible idea to provide consumers with completely healthy, tasty beans in a convenient, ready-to-eat pouch that only has two ingredients: beans and water!
Quickly add beans to top your salad, as a side dish, inside your enchiladas, or pop them in your mouth as a snack. These are a fast, delicious, healthy treat to feed your kids after school or sports practice, too! Bare Beans was inspired by Michelle’s husband’s farm and her constant desire to find a way to innovate or provide value to moms like you.
January 2022 Podcast Episode 196
Find out the real truth of what’s causing the U.S. supply chain issues from Ryan Atwood of H&A Farms and Ryan Lockman of North Bay Produce.
We’ve all been affected by the supply chain issue here in the U.S., but what’s really the main cause of it (and will it continue)? From inflation to lack of availability to transportation issues, all parts of the supply chain are being affected, not just us as consumers. Part of the cause is labor costs are going up, and if companies don’t raise their wages, they don’t have enough workers in the supply chain to keep things moving.
There’s also an increased cost of goods with things like fertilizer, making the cost of growing fruit and vegetables high for farmers, while at the same time the amount of mobile money the average retail consumer has to purchase goods is decreasing. There’s a long lead time for other items like packaging, a lack of availability for trucking and more. Ryan A. and Ryan L. both share what we can do as consumers to help decrease these issues and get our supply chain back to normal.
January 2022 Podcast Episode 197
The families behind Tanimura & Antle started growing lettuce and ended up innovating the entire produce industry.
Tanimura & Antle is the business that’s responsible for you, the consumer, having readily available, fresh, leafy greens anywhere in the U.S. year-round. The Tanimura family migrated to the U.S. from Japan in the 1920s, only to be later placed in internment camps in World War Two. At the same time, the Antle family, who migrated to California during the Dust Bowl, was fighting in the war, not knowing the two would come together to join forces soon after to market Tanimura’s lettuce under the Antle brand.
Fast forward to today where this global company has 30,000 acres on the west coast, 7,000 employees, and sales offices internationally. The original goal was for the company to produce 100,000 cases of produce a week, and now they produce about 140,000 boxes a day! From lettuce to cauliflower, broccoli and celery, Tanimura & Antle sells a wide variety of greenhouse grown, artisanal quality and genetically innovative produce. They’ve created inventions that have transformed how the industry supplies you with fresh produce that you’ll want to hear about!
January 2022 Podcast Episode 198
Get used to technology, quick access and partnerships with your favorite grocery retailers and restaurants with Pamela Riemenschneider.
If anyone knows about industry trends and how we’ll be feeding our families, it’s Pamela Riemenschneider. She’s a celebrated trade journalist and catalyst for the produce industry and tells us that the way we shop and enjoy food is going to evolve altogether.
When it comes to restaurants (who were especially hard hit during the pandemic), Pamela tells us we’re going to see more offering smaller menus with reservations being required for diners. They’ll also be using ghost kitchens and collaborative spaces to let you enjoy quality food at home. Grocery retailers, restaurants and meal prep companies are going to continue to collaborate to offer ready-to-go or take-and-bake meal kits. We’ll also shift our focus back to recycling and plastics… something that went by the wayside when the pandemic first hit.
To see a list of all our past episodes, visit www.theproducemoms.com/podcast
