Consumer driven

Photo courtesy of Oishii

Oishii, the Japanese-style vertical farm known for its strawberries, announced in August that it hired Rita Hudetz as its new chief commercial officer.

Recruited to the company by a team that included co-founder and COO Brendan Somerville, Hudetz brings to Oishii a wealth of consumer-driven career experience.

“As an operator and strategist, Rita’s accomplishments are unparalleled. We are so glad to have her on our team during a major inflection point for Oishii’s brand,” Somerville said in the announcement. “We’re growing quickly in a time when others are slowing. Rita’s expertise will help us bring our delicious, clean strawberries to consumers nationwide.”

In an interview with Produce Grower, Hudetz discusses why the company’s mission is important to her, her career so far and what comes next for Oishii.

Produce Grower: In the statement announcing your hire, you are quoted as saying ‘mission matters to me.’ Can you describe what is appealing about the mission of this company and what you’ll be doing in your role?

Rita Hudetz: Sustainability is in the DNA of Oishii. And I think it’s interesting, as I’ve come in to have conversations with so many people as they discuss what vertical farming is and what it means to them. And for me in particular, I'm passionate about clean foods and pesticide-free growing. I studied environmental health [in college] and have always been really interested in the connection between consumer products and environmental health and exposures. So really working on a product that is super clean, has no pesticides, is ultra fresh and really is about growing differently and farming differently is super appealing.

PG: Tell us about your career.

RH: I’m really a consumer products person at heart, more than an agriculture person. I’ve always had a bit of a love affair with the consumer, how people consume and the decisions they make. For example, while I was at PepsiCo., I ran the Quaker brand internationally and had contacts in places where oatmeal wasn't a staple. It really taught me to understand local food culture and [how to make] business contacts as you're building a brand and unlocking roads. I was at Hu Kitchen when they started expanding nationally, so I really learned the power of regionally focused expansions and unlocking evangelists for a product, which I think we have a lot of at Oishii, as well. And then at Milk Bar, I had the great honor of learning about food and thinking about food differently in a really chef-driven way.

PG: What are the next growth steps for the company?

RH: Right now, we are really focused on building our regional brand awareness as we prepare for expansion. We have a phenomenal following in New York City who just love the product and show up at our events. We are really excited about how we are expanding that following into new markets with new audiences. As we grow this fall, we are going to have new people to reach and are excited to see how that grows.