YAKIMA, WA - This year’s apple season is underway, and in preparation, FirstFruits Farms has revealed strategic changes to its team set to improve business and growth. Among those being promoted and added to the team are Justin Bos, Senior Sales Account Manager; Andy Zhu, Post-Harvest Manager; Melissa Hunter, Data Analyst; Aleisha Loveluck, Data Science Architect; Emily Autrey, Marketing Manager; and Lon Hudson, Sales Director.
“While accepting this position, I understand the responsibilities I am taking on. I look forward to the ambitious plans I have for the sales department as well as the whole company,” said Hudson.
The promotion of Hudson to Sales Director was simple for FirstFruits based on his proven talents, as Chuck Zeutenhorst, President, explained in a release.
“Promoting from within for the Sales Director position was an easy task due to our large pool of talented employees here at FirstFruits. Lon Hudson brings extensive experience and key skills to this role,” he commented.
Also being promoted is Loveluck, who will work to drive the company forward using data science and working alongside the sales team to build strategies that will maximize farm success.
“FirstFruits Farms finds it crucial to continuously invest in and prepare its teams,” said Loveluck. “Through the combined experience and skills our sales, data analytics, and marketing teams bring together, we can comprehend the mass amount of data in the market and glean insights to present in an easy-to-read format for our retail partners. We pride ourselves on our ability to marry insights with solutions to grow the apple category. With that said, we are excited to have expanded our data department with the addition of Melissa Hunter to aid in accomplishing our data goals.”
In addition to Loveluck and Hudson, Autrey has also been promoted to her new role as Marketing Manager.
“As a marketer and now rooted in a managerial role, I know just how important a seamless relationship across all our teams is,” commented Autrey. “We’re all trying to work as a cohesive unit to uniquely position our fruit using supporting data and quality product.”
This season, the FirstFruits Farms’ marketing department is striving to address growing apple demand through retailer-specific marketing strategies—a product of their sales, data analytics, production, and marketing teams’ combined efforts.
Adding to the team are Zhu, Hunter, and Bos, who will all contribute their own unique skills to help FirstFruits in its evolution.
“Since joining the FirstFruits team, I look forward to working alongside industry professionals to further expand the sales department,” said Bos. “FirstFruits has strengthened key departments such as sales, data analytics, production, and marketing by promoting hardworking employees from within as well as bringing in additional talent with extensive produce industry experience to draw insights from.”
Congratulations to all of these leaders as they help inspire growth at FirstFruits Farms.
