ORONDO, WA - Auvil Fruit Company saw an incredible year of growth in 2015.  As we make our way into this first part of 2016, Auvil is not only making strides across its orchard operations, but within its executive ranks as well. While continuing to invest in its growth model of doubling acreage in the next three to five years, Auvil Fruit has brought on a new addition to the team, Lee Arthur, previously The Fresh Market’s Merchandising Vice President for Produce, Floral, Gift, Candy, Coffee, and Bulk. 

In his new role as Director of Brand Strategy and Marketing, Lee will be guiding the “Gee Whiz” brand apple program into a new era of marketing and business development for the company. Bringing insights from a buyer’s standpoint will allow the company to grow its brand messaging and relationships from a buyer’s perspective. Lee officially joined Auvil in October of 2015.

“Produce marketing is evolving, and here at Auvil, we are looking to evolve with it,” Lee tells me. “My goal is to bring to life to the Auvil story and help our retail customers understand, and become passionate, about our fruit. I will also be working with sales team, IT, and HR in developing a Business Intelligence platform, Social Platforms, E-Commerce, and Employee and Customer Satisfaction.”

Not only has Lee been a member of The Fresh Market’s executive team, but was also Whole Foods’ Director of Produce and Floral, Ukrop’s Supermarkets’ Director of Produce and Floral Operations, and Produce Supervisor for Brookshire Grocery.

When I ask Lee what initially brought him to fresh produce, he tells me that his father was a rancher/grower in East Texas, which is where he worked during his childhood and into his late teens. Lee then went to work in a grocery store in high school to make money as a bag boy. 

“The reason I went to work in the grocery store was because it was air conditioned and a lot easier than punching cows and hauling hay,” Lee laughs. “I was inspired at some point by one of bosses along the way, Pete Leung, Executive Vice President with Brookshire’s. He simply said I had a bright future with the company because I worked with a purpose.  It is the little things that motivate people to achieve goals.

I fell in love with the industry soon after college and decided that my ultimate goal was to be a produce merchandiser for the Brookshire Grocery Company, in Tyler, Texas.”

Lee tells me that after 35 years in retail this opportunity with Auvil came about after he asked the owner if they had ever thought about hiring a experienced retail executive to come in as a managing partner. 

“They have such a great story, and in my mind the best apple/cherry grower I had worked with in my career. I had known them for more than ten-years and felt a high level of integrity with the owners and stock holders of the company,” he says. “The job I have now is very exciting and very different from anything that I have ever done before.”

Lee saw this as a change in his career that would both challenge him and help him continue to learn and grow in the industry.   

“Auvil Fruit understands the work life balance and has instilled that in the team,” Lee adds. “The people who work here know who they are, and what is important.  The highest standard is engrained in every piece of the operation from Growing and Packing to Customer service.  I identified early in our relationship as a retailer that they are true partners to the retailer.”

In other words, Lee adds, they ‘Talk the Talk, and Walk the Walk.’

Auvil Fruit Company