Traceability Is Crucial to the World Produce Industry

The IFPA’s Fresh Field Catalyst is a six-month tech accelerator has brought together startups and global corporations to create innovative solutions for the challenges currently facing the produce industry.

My guests today are current Fresh Field participants Julie Escobar, Chief Commercial Officer at DiMuto, and her invaluable mentor in the program, Judy Clark, CEO at Fresh Texas.

Traceability is critical to consumer confidence, supply chain success, and fostering sustainable growing practices. It also encourages more much-needed global investment in agriculture.

Join us as we discuss:

• Managing farm-to-table data through apps and QR codes for speed and accuracy
• Supporting the move to sustainable practices 
• Connecting the farmer to the consumer and opening up Pacific Rim markets
• How IFPA’s tech accelerator helps startups build crucial relationships

To hear all the freshest interviews in the produce industry, subscribe to Fresh Takes on Tech on Apple, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.

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Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Hello, I'm Vonnie Estes, your host of Fresh Takes on Tech. This season we are highlighting companies and the Fresh Field Catalyst accelerator. The accelerator is a six-month program from the International Fresh Produce Association, bringing new technology into the produce industry. For more information on the accelerator, you can contact me or go to freshproduce.com. So today we have two guests on the show. Julie Escobar, the Chief Commercial Officer at DiMuto, who is a participant in the accelerator, and Judy Clark, CEO at Fresh Texas, who was also Julie's mentor in the program. Welcome to you both. It's really great to have you.

So Julie, let's start with you. Would you please tell us about DiMuto and your role?

Julie Escobar, DiMuto

Yes, well, excited to be here. Vonnie. DiMuto is an active company headquartered in Singapore. Our main core business is to bring a global marketplace, finance solution, and traceability to small, medium, and large farmers. And I am currently their Chief Commercial Officer. And yeah, excited to be here.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Great, and where are you located?

Julie Escobar, DiMuto

I am based in Central Oregon. And I am responsible for managing all of the North America.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

So the company is global. It's going to all the different countries and offering solutions, right?

Julie Escobar, DiMuto

Correct, yeah. So we have a strong team of almost 14-15 people in Singapore. And then I am building my team in Latin America and here in the U.S. So we already have a full-time employee in Colombia in South America, and trying to fill the second position in Mexico at the moment.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Thanks. So Judy, please tell us about Fresh Texas.

Judy Clark, Fresh Texas

Sure. Thanks, Vonnie, for hosting this podcast. Fresh Texas is a value added produce supplier, we're located in San Antonio, Texas. And we also have a plant over in Austin, Texas. And what we do is we take in raw materials, commodities and other inclusions and we package them into something that the home cook doesn't have to spend a lot of time prepping. And so we like to think that we can make your mealtime a lot simpler, create a little healthier meals at home. Our forte is really in that meal solutions provider landscape along with the line of dips and your your normal fresh cut produce just vegetables and apples. Sorry, not apples with fruit.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

So how far do you ship to? Is this all just in Texas? Or do you go outside of the state? 

Judy Clark, Fresh Texas

Yeah, you know, for us, we focus really on high quality fresh products. And so we like to keep our shelf life somewhere in that five- to 10-day range depending on the commodity. And so for us, Texas is really our mainstay, but we go as far as Oklahoma, Louisiana.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Excellent. So I know both of your companies do a lot, many different things. But I think today and kind of where the overlap is is is looking at traceability. So, Julie, we'll start with you. Why is traceability so critical to the produce industry right now? And how does it impact the overall business today? 

Julie Escobar, DiMuto

Sure, so the way I see it, Vonnie, there's two different angles, obviously from a retailer or consumer perspective, traceability is very important, because, you know, it really allows the companies and ultimately the consumers to really understand where the product is coming from have much more bigger self confidence that there's transparency in the supply chain. But on the other side from an investment perspective, as we see all of these huge companies and investment companies coming into the marketplace into the ag business, traceability and especially that the DiMuto platform is really going to bring a lot more visibility to what the actual farmer is doing on the ground. So when we talk about water consumption, fertilizers, you know, we talk a lot about nowadays about food waste, sustainability, ESG, you know, really having a traceability system in place to be able to track that data, It's hopefully you really what's going to help us all put all the data together and make better business decisions. So ultimately, that's why I think traceability all the way from the farm to the final. Right? It's so important.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Judy, what about your business, and how do you see the importance of traceability?

Judy Clark, Fresh Texas

Sure, it's a cornerstone of our business. You know, every day we're bringing in raw materials and packaging that has food content. We have to have not just full traceability but quick traceability. You know, this isn't the days when you'd go to a drawer and find paper and try to track that, we really need to build a run a quick report and know exactly where we use everything by lock code up and down through the supply chain. So it's exciting to us to hear about some of the new technology coming into the space, it's going to make us even more connected with our suppliers.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

And food safety is such an important part of your business. How does traceability and these different traceability tools help you with food safety?

Judy Clark, Fresh Texas

Sure, so one its requirements, right, we have to be able to trace. And certainly as we look at the new FSMA, section 204 that potentially comes into play here in November, it's going to require for certain materials that we handle, you know, an even higher level of traceability and electronic traceability. And it's something that's going to force the hand across the industry, as we wrestled with, you know, how much do we automate those types of activities. So, think we're excited about thinking about a platform that extends throughout our entire operation? And again, up and down in that supply chain.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

So Julie, how does DiMuto's platform capture this huge amount of data?

Julie Escobar, DiMuto

Yeah, well, excellent question. So are technologies really based on a simple QR code, basically, through the QR code that we either put in a box or the actual fruit, it allows us to really kind of track the amount of data happening in that in that particular shipment of the actual fruit. And we've added in the last couple of weeks, a couple of more things into our platform. One of them is the format, which is once again, it's an application, it's an app that we will be working with the agronomist or with a small medium farmers in where they can ultimately also start inputting a lot of the information that happens at the farm. And then once again, all of this data gets placed in one executive dashboard. And depending on who you are in the organization, whether you're the executive team or the agronomists team, it allows you to have right-on-point data that otherwise it would take you weeks and weeks to put together.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

So what kind of farm data are you getting? Is it like harvest time? Or is it agronomic data? What kind of data are they putting in?

Julie Escobar, DiMuto

So yeah, so at this point, as we're launching the farm app, we're trying to find a middle point and where, once again, it's not overloaded of data, but it's a little bit more about once again, the things that the world are highly concerned about. So one of them is the water consumption, obviously, the harvest timing, the yields, the fertilizers, the transportation, right, so how long does it take, how much does it cost to actually move product from A to B to C, to D, and so on. The beauty of obviously, like, as you probably know better than I do, the beauty of a startup, is the ability to be able to be nimble and humble enough to go to this kind of treatment and adjust yourself to what the market is willing to give you as a form of data. Because once again, I mean growers are very busy doing their job as growers. So it's finding that middle point, but right now we feel like we have water, fertilizers, harvest, yield, are probably the top priorities that we're tracking.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

So you'll eventually be probably not doing this yet. But you'd be able to use this information to do some amount of carbon footprint tracking are kind of understanding, you know, how much how sustainable people are growing and what the carbon impact is, is that kind of what you're looking towards?

Julie Escobar, DiMuto

Exactly. That is that is exactly where we're going. So, you know, with my investment background, and the years that I've been in the business, I mean, as I said, I think it's managing global ag projects and not, you know, talking about sustainability and food waste and water consumption. It's very fancy, but how do you really track that information? And there's not a lot of data or a lot of platforms out there who can actually put it all together. So we can ultimately, you know, everyone in the supply chain or in the executive teams of these companies, can actually make the right decisions and can inform their shareholders and stakeholders about, you know, what are we doing about water? Why are we growing this amount of product, what is the actual food that we have in our farms, and what kind of decisions can we actually make, to  make better decisions and to hopefully have a much better planet, which is ultimately what everyone is trying, We're all trying to target that. 

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Yeah. Judy, in your business, I mean, I hear a number of people kind of complain about, well, I've got like, all these apps and all this data, and I have to input this and put this here, and nothing really talks to each other. Are you seeing that the data gathering and the information is starting to be compatible with each other? And that you don't have to have a bunch of different systems? Or how how's that working in the business side?

Judy Clark, Fresh Texas

Yeah, yes and no. I mean, integration is something that you just want to avoid at all costs, if you can, once an interface is down we're trying to catch up and it's a lot of wasted effort, right? So we're looking to try to find those platforms that are cloud based, that are seamless, that can integrate and create a structure for us that we aren't doing redundant work, redundant data entry. I'm not as much concerned that it has to be one system, because I think we've gotten to a point with APIs and connectors where we can have multiple systems, but they need they need to really add value in the space that they're playing. Otherwise, it doesn't make sense to not be in the same system across the broader area of the business. And you know, what Julie talks about is just so exciting, right? For us to be able to go to customers with that type of sustainability data, that's going to become more and more important over time. And so I think the folks that are invested in that and really supporting that move towards sustainable practices, and not just saying we're doing it, but measuring it and monitoring it, is it we're gonna be able to monetize that at some point. I think it was three days ago that that was it Seville, Spain named a heatwave. It's the first time we've named a heatwave.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

I didn't hear that, wow.

Judy Clark, Fresh Texas

Yeah, I mean, we live in a world that climate change is real. And so I think we all need to be focused on, you know, making sure we're doing what we can on the sustainability efforts. And the other piece that you know, Julie, as you talk about what the software is going to do, in our business, we package things when it's at the exact right space, right? And so to be able to have some of that data and the visual data from the farmers in an app, for our procurement team, who's amazing with this, and our QA team to be able to say, okay, this product, we're going to be able to pack that when it gets here on Thursday, but it's gonna get here Tuesday, we need to ripen it a little bit. I think of that aspect of just smoothing the operation, which, you know, ultimately, when you do things like that you can take cost out of an operation.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Yeah, Julie, you were talking about before, just on the finance side of it, as you're working with growers and working throughout the system, how do you kind of layer on different kinds of financial services and being able to help them financially as well?

Julie Escobar, DiMuto

Sure. So one of the realities that we we have seen around the world is that the regular banks have always been a little bit more concerned on lending to the ag business, obviously, for all of the risk that sits around that: climate, transportation, you know, all of these unknowns. I think that in the last probably the last five, seven years, you would definitely see countries with a bigger appetite in the banking system to open up the financial system and open up the terms and lending. Specifically for us, we see that our technology and our traceability system gives us the ability to have full visibility to what happens to the trade, to the shipments. And by being able to have that visibility within our platform, then we can turn around and then we can actually, you know, tell a bigger story to our investment community. So as we continue to raise, you know, we are being able to see what happens with that particular grower. The platform gives us the ability to show, you know, what percentage of claims do they have, what percentage of of bad fruit arrives to the final destination, we have full visibility to their cause to the farming side of things to post shipment. And so I think that once again, bringing and having that visibility is what's going to give the banking industry in the investment community, a much more self confidence that extending terms and extending capital to those growers is the way to go. And then luncheon with the marketplace. So it's not only the traceability of the finance, but it's ultimately, you know, how do we open up new markets for those customers, which ultimately impacts the total ROI. In reality now we know that a lot of the countries they tend to focus mostly in one or two markets, the European market or the North American market. But as our company is based in Singapore, and we're so stablished in the Asia Pacific Rim, then how do we start bringing more opportunities to these growers to open up these new markets in the Asia Pacific Rim, which at the end of the day, that's where, you know, half of the population of the world sits today. So it's very exciting that being able to put the three pieces together, how we can ultimately bring those opportunities to those growers.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Yeah, that is exciting. Judy, what do you see? It sounds like you're pretty integrated and using some of these tools. What do you see are the barriers? Are there partners that you work with that you wish they had more tools, so you were getting better data? And so what are some of the barriers of adoption of these types of tools?

Judy Clark, Fresh Texas

Yeah, I think it's really getting to the growers and the packinghouses grading stations and having those tools that are seamlessly connected, like we run a decent ERP system here. And so that's how we have our connectivity once things hit our dock. But upstream of that, there is no connectivity. And so that's the next piece that I'm really looking forward to and understanding how we can have more connectivity upstream to our suppliers on the way in. And then of course, the other side is almost equally as important. How do we have our customers have visibility to that? And how do we connect the consumers all the way back to the story of how that product that they're looking to purchase or consume was grown? And, you know, there's a few people out there doing that now with the QR codes. And we played with it with one item a couple of years ago, and it was pretty cool to see how many people are interested in scanning that and learning more about what they're consuming. So I think that's the possibility is as we move forward, how do you grow more consumption? And what we know is it contributes to a healthy lifestyle, which is fruits and vegetables. And we do that by connecting that farmer all the way down to that consumer using the tech.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Oh, that's so cool. So the consumers, did they do it in the store, or did they do it once they got home? Or did was it a purchasing decision? 

Judy Clark, Fresh Texas

We don't know, we just threw a QR code on and said "For more information about this..." And so it was kind of a fun test, just through our website, looking at the hits that we got to see people, you know, you dabbled to try to figure out what where can you drive consumption, and it was interesting. So to me, it's connecting that personal story, I think is where you're going to really drive the sales and the repeat purchases.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

And I think if we're looking to get some sort of premium for some of these products, where people are really paying attention to sustainability, and they need a little bit of a premium, that those stories are going to be important, you know, consumers that really care about that and can really trace it all the way back. That's very cool. So Julie, you've been part of the IFPA Fresh Catalyst, we had a great time at Immersion Week, you were a bright spot on that on that bus. And so tell us what you've learned and how being part of the accelerator has been.

Julie Escobar, DiMuto

I have to tell you, Vonnie, I think that the tech accelerator is probably one of the best initiatives that I've seen IFPA come around in the last couple of years. My experience has been incredible from, you know, the trip to California to working with Judy. And just kind of getting a little bit of her mentorship, on preparing to go and visit her and her facilities in the next couple of weeks. Yeah, having the ability to also network with other similar companies. As you know, the startup world is just, it has so many lows and highs that just being able to kind of share your experiences with other companies and just learning from their journeys, and it was just really phenomenal. So I am a big fan of this project. And hopefully I'll become the the spokesperson for it for the Latin America side of the business.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Yeah, that'd be really great to get some more companies in from Latin America, because we really are looking, you know, it's a global program. And this year, we did have a lot of companies from other countries, but not much from Latin America, so it'd be great for you to spread the word down there, because there's so much interesting technology going on.

Julie Escobar, DiMuto

Oh, there's just so much. And yeah, and then the exposure to visiting the companies here in the U.S. and understanding the challenges and, and the opportunities. I mean, I think that's the kind of detailed conversation, as as a startup, if you don't have those relationships and that network, it can take you years to really establish as opposed to being in this tech accelerator in a week, you get all of this condensed information. So once again, congratulations for what you guys are doing, for all the work your energy you're putting into this and very excited to be able to kind of hopefully, push it forward to to the Latin American world.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Great, thank you, I will take you up on that. So just wrapping up here, Judy, what are the three challenges in your business that you're looking for solutions to across, it doesn't have to be traceability. It can be anything, what are the challenges that you trying to solve?

Judy Clark, Fresh Texas

I can only pick three? Okay.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Your top three.

Judy Clark, Fresh Texas

Six months ago, I think when we were all together, I would have said labor. But that seems to be, you know, stabilizing a little bit, which is just a great place for us to be. You know, sustainability is one of the other areas that I think is a big challenge. And we use a lot of water, and water is required to make food safe products. And so I think that's something that we as a team here are really focused on is, you know, our commitment to creating more sustainable practice and creating that sustainability throughout the life of the supply chain. It's not just water usage, it's electric, you know, it's packaging, how do we have more sustainable packaging? So something that I think it's a challenge, and it's also, you know, a good journey for us to be on, really focused on that. You know, tech is another area, that is a challenge for us, right? We need to do more with scanning technology, and more with analytical technology that helps us drive better business decisions. There's so much tech out there. Now, to your point, Vonnie, earlier, you can get lost in bolting all of this together. And so we're at a bit of that point in our maturity where we're 40 years old, but you know, a company grows up on a system, and it takes a long time to start maturing into what's new and out there. So we're kind of undertaking that work right now. And that's, any tech change is always just a little bit scary. But we know it can make us much better at what we do. And that, you know, we touched on this as well, but you know, the other big challenge is climate change, right? We're coming out of the the hottest few months we've ever seen here in south Texas, and it's normally hot, but we're a refrigerated business. And so making sure that we're able to keep it temp when you've gotten extraordinary pressure on your facilities and your trucking, you know, when when the temperature never cools down at night, and it's hitting daily highs that are well above the ordinary. It's just, that is a challenge that I think, globally, we're all going to be addressing here in the coming months and making sure that we're really doing the right things to drive sustainable agricultural practices, processing practices, and then obviously, delivery and shipment practices.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Great. Just those? (laughs) So Julie, what are three problems that improve traceability tools, and actually just anything that you guys are working on, can solve for the produce industry?

Julie Escobar, DiMuto

Yeah. Well, I love where Judy was going with her responses. And obviously, we know that traceability is very good for food safety, and so on. But I really think that where we're thinking, the DiMuto's executive team, and how we see the opportunity of traceability, and bringing the finance and the marketplace together is similar. So from a sustainability perspective, I mean, the reality is, how do we walk the talk? I mean, how do we really bring data, compelling data, that is going to really force these companies to make the right decisions at the ground level? Which, once again, I feel that, you know, if you're an exporter in Colombia or Mexico today, and you are managing 1,000 small growers, you know, how do you manage that data today? It's so all over the place, it's just old-fashioned, people are still writing things on pieces of paper. So we really have to be able to bring digital tools to the small/medium farmers to be able to really start speaking sustainability. The second thing is, or third thing is, she's mentioned a Judy, that climate change, right, I mean, it's just a reality. I mean, it we see it every day, is going to continue to hit as harder. It's especially depending on the different countries that you source product from. So once again, bringing that that traceability system in place and being able to trace that data back is just once again going to help everyone in the supply chain to make better decisions. And then from a consumer perspective, there's just so much that happens at the ground level, you know, there's incredible stories of social impact and sustainability and really interesting things that the growers are doing. But not a lot of that a lot of that information, it just doesn't get passed to the consumer. So the ability as we were talking earlier, the ability to track and kind of scan it with your QR code immediately at the store level and being able to kind of immediately see it in your phone. Where's the farm located? What are they doing? What kind of interesting stories is the grower putting in the country to help their communities or to impact the planet? I think that that's really going to be a very interesting part of what we're trying to do with our with our traceability system.

Vonnie Estes, IFPA

Excellent. Well thank you both. And before we go, I want to thank two of our sponsors. We had a number of sponsors for the IFPA Fresh Field Catalyst accelerator that made it possible. And so two I want to thank today, one is Bolthouse Farms, which we visited on our Immersion Week, and Bolthouse believes in making better choices about how your food is grown and is committed to creating healthier products for its customers while improving soil health and reducing food waste. And Local Bounti is another one of our sponsors, and Local Bounti is changing the way leafy greens are grown and delivered from their farm to your kitchen. So with that, I thank you both and we will talk to you at another time.