MONTEREY, CA - Mark your calendars—an educational session featuring online food company superstars has been announced for this year’s upcoming Organic Produce Summit (OPS). Members of Peapod, Instacart, and Sun Basket have been announced as panelists for the first of six educational sessions: “E-Grocery and the Future of Organic Fresh Produce at Retail.” This session will take place at OPS 2018, from July 11-12 in Monterey, CA.

“OPS attendees will hear from three of the most innovative and progressive e-commerce companies in the organic food space today,” said Susan Canales, President of the Summit. “Each company has a unique business proposition, and each is positioned as a leader in their respective category of the online food business. This session will be informative and insightful for those on both the production and sales side of the organic fresh produce industry.”

According to a press release, Kevin Coupe of Morning News Beat will serve as moderator for the session, which will delve into the challenges and opportunities for organic fresh produce in the growing online grocery and food delivery category. Representatives from the e-grocery giants included in the panel are as follows:

• Tony Stallone, Vice President of Merchandising for Peapod
• Dan Bourgault, Head of Brand Partnerships for Instacart
• Don Barnett, COO for Sun Basket

For those who aren’t familiar with the companies featured in the panel discussion, here is a quick rundown of their impacts in e-commerce:

• Peapod, owned by Ahold Delhaize and operates in 23 U.S. markets; it is currently the largest online grocery delivery store in the United States
• Instacart, a San Francisco-based company that operates as a same-day grocery delivery service; customers select groceries through a web application from various retailers and they are delivered by a personal shopper
• Sun Basket, a subscription meal delivery service that ships member’s fresh organic and sustainable ingredients and recipes every month, allowing them to cook their own meal

As we reported last month, OPS recently announced its keynote presenters: Ed Carolan, President of Campbell Fresh, and Dan Buettner, noted journalist, author, and discoverer of Blue Zones. The educational sessions and keynote presentation are part of the two-day OPS 2018, which was created to bring together organic fresh produce growers/shippers/processors and retailer and buying organizations from across North America. OPS shared that it will continue to announce additional educational sessions and an exclusive Retailer RoundTable in the coming weeks.

In addition to educational sessions and keynote addresses, OPS 2018 will also feature a selection of field tours for retailers and buyers, a gala opening night reception, and a sold-out trade show floor featuring 130 producers and processors of organic fresh produce from across North America and the globe.

To learn even more information about the upcoming OPS 2018, please visit www.organicproducesummit.com.

Organic Produce Summit