Lori Taylor, founder and CEO of The Produce Moms® announced this week the creation of The Produce Moms Trailblazer Award which recognizes an individual who has made a unique contribution to the food and beverage industry. The inaugural recipient of the award is Sarah Frey, founder and CEO, Frey Farms. This award is for trailblazers in agriculture, technology, grocery, logistics, investment, and more. To date, TPM has hosted nearly 300 guests from the food and beverage value chain on The Produce Moms Podcast.
“This award will be given annually, just before Thanksgiving. After all, much of what we are thankful for in business and in life is due to a courageous trailblazer and Sarah Frey is the epitome of a trailblazer,” says Taylor.
Left to right: Sarah Frey, Lori Taylor
“It is very meaningful to me to be the inaugural recipient of this award, and not an honor I take lightly,” says Frey. “I hope I can inspire others with my story to follow their heart and do what’s right for the betterment of our society and our planet. My heartfelt thanks go to Lori and the entire community of The Produce Moms for this accolade.”
Frey’s story is one of hard work, perseverance and trailblazing. She grew up in rural poverty on a struggling farm in Southern Illinois. At age 15, she started a fresh produce delivery business out of the bed of an old pickup truck and is now the leading producer of pumpkins earning Frey the nickname “America’s Pumpkin Queen.”
Within two years of operating a melon route out of her pickup truck, Frey took over the family farm and started doing business with the largest grocery retailers in the country. She’s since developed a vertically integrated beverage business that has competed successfully with large-scale CPG beverage companies. Frey Farms is now the largest producer of cold-pressed watermelon juice in the U.S. distributing to both retail grocery and foodservice under the brands Tsamma (sah-mah) and Sarah’s Homegrown.
“We have distributed Frey Farms beverages for just under five years, with its watermelon agua fresca being a top seller in over 10,000 restaurants,” says Jack Blaida, performance foodservice, national category manager. “We enthusiastically applaud Sarah as the inaugural recipient of this award.”
Frey’s negotiation skills with Walmart were turned into a Harvard Business Review case study, and a few years ago, Doug McMillon, the CEO of Walmart recognized Frey as an example of Walmart’s commitment to woman-owned businesses.
Frey’s vision has also resulted in improvements such as converting school buses into harvest trucks. Prior to this, crews hauled heavy watermelons to bins. This use of buses has become an industry standard. Her actions have also led to her story being published as a memoir, The Growing Season.
For more information:
Terri Mouton
The Produce Moms
Tel: +1 (818) 929-4255
b.t.mouton@sbcglobal.net
https://www.theproducemoms.com/