By Jim Offner, (April 24)
Jeff Gargiulo has moved from an established company whose brand has attained household-word status to a newcomer trying to reach that level with its own label.
Gargiulo, who in January announced he was stepping down as chief executive officer of Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based Sunkist Growers Inc., has joined Sundia Corp., a two-year-old San Francisco-based watermelon marketer, as its chairman.
Gargiulo officially started with Sundia on April 19, according to Brad Oberwager, Sundia’s founder.
It was three months to the day since announcing he was leaving Sunkist.
Indeed, Oberwager said, Sundia wants to appropriate more than a leader from Sunkist.
The company, founded as a marketer of fresh watermelon and watermelon juice, is looking to expand into other items. It currently is test-marketing cantaloupe, honeydews, tomatoes and onions, Oberwager said.
The company also wants to mimic Sunkist’s philosophy about branding.
“We are going to be a produce brand,” he said. “Given the fact that we’re primarily associated with watermelon, we want to see where it extends and where all it doesn’t.”
Branding, not growing and shipping, is the key to the company’s plan, Oberwager said.
“We’re trying to evolve strictly on a brand basis,” Oberwager said. “That’s similar, in a way, to what Sunkist has evolved into over the last 100 years. They are really a brand. Now, they happen to take ownership of the orange, buying it from the grower. We just took the next step and said we don’t want to buy the watermelon. We want to be the brand.”
Gargiulo was instrumental in pushing Sunkist’s approach to brand identification, Oberwager said.
“Jeff was really forward-thinking and was really trying to push Sunkist more and more into licensing and being the brand,” Oberwager said. “That’s what attracted us to him. So, he was the right guy for us.”
Gargiulo said he was impressed.
“I agreed to become the chairman of Sundia’s board of directors and advisors because they’re taking a revolutionary approach to building a produce brand,” Gargiulo said April 20 in a written statement.
Sundia approached Gargiulo in January, but it was not a part of his decision to leave Sunkist, Oberwager said.
“They had known about it (his plan to step down) internally,” Oberwager said.
Gargiulo, who owns a winery, will continue to live in Napa, Calif. He said his role will be largely advisory.
“Being chairman is not an operating role, so I don’t have to relocate,” Gargiulo said. “I will simply be present at every board meeting and work with (Oberwager) as needed as he and his team build the Sundia brand.”
Gargiulo said his role as Sundia’s chairman does not affect his contract status with Sunkist, which officially expires in June.
“He’s checked everything out with the folks (at Sunkist),” Oberwager said.
Sundia partners with 10 growers but expects to double that roster by the end of the year, Oberwager said.
Oberwager said the company expects to go from about $500,000 in revenue from licensing agreements last year — virtually its first in the business — to more than $2 million this year.
Gargiulo’s presence will help give the company instant legitimacy in the industry, he added.
“We are as much focused on value-added produce as we are in traditional produce, and that’s what Jeff was really trying to do at Sunkist,” he said. “He was trying to push them toward the value-added stuff. Now, he can direct and help shape our vision and strategy.
“And he’s also phenomenal in opening doors and getting us into the right businesses, so we can continue to push our brand,” Oberwager said.
Gargiulo launched his produce career with the Naples, Fla.-based Naples Fruit and Vegetable Co., and later started Gargiulo Inc., which quickly became a significant player in tomatoes, strawberries and raspberries. In 1997, Monsanto bought the company, and he served as president of the Produce Business Unit for two years. He joined Sunkist in 2001. |
