BAKERSFIELD, CA - There are many ways to measure costs in the fresh produce business: the price of materials, the expense of labor, and investments in infrastructure. But one cost is often overlooked—until it becomes too great to ignore. Phil Gruszka, Founder of Gruszka Consulting, has helped countless companies recover from it: the cost of silence in produce marketing.

In our last article with Phil, we explored how persistence and consistency are the cornerstones of lasting impact in fresh produce marketing.

“Recognition isn’t built overnight; it comes from showing up season after season, across every touchpoint, with a steady message and quality to match,” Phil begins. “Think about this: A retailer once told me it took three full seasons of steady promotion before a new apple variety became a ‘must-have’ on their shelves. Buyers began to expect it, and consumers started to ask for it by name. Yet within a single season of reduced marketing support or simply relying on marketing from the previous season to ‘carry over,’ that same variety slipped in visibility and was quickly replaced in the conversation by other fruit. The build was slow, but the silence was fast.”

And here’s the even bigger picture, Phil tells me, explaining how growers invest years developing a new brand or variety.

“Time, research, resources, and passion go into every acre planted. Doesn’t that kind of effort on the growing side warrant an equal investment on the marketing side?” he asks. “Without consistent storytelling and visibility, that multi-year commitment risks being overlooked or forgotten in the noise of a crowded marketplace. Today’s markets are likely very different from the market when work on the brand or variety began. That’s the reality of produce marketing today. If consistency is the pathway to building trust and value, then silence is the fast track to losing both. Saying nothing is never neutral.”

Here are more insights straight from Phil himself, and they make the silence louder yet:

Awareness Builds Slowly—But Silence Works Fast

One of the truths of modern marketing is that building awareness takes time. Each impression, each post, each in-store promotion is like a seed—only through repeated exposure does it grow into recognition and trust.

Silence, however, has the opposite effect. And it works much faster. Consumers are bombarded with thousands of messages every day. They need to be constantly reminded, or they quickly forget. What takes months or seasons to build can be undone in weeks when your brand or commodity goes quiet.

Silence Turns Products into Commodities

When a company doesn’t invest in telling its story—through packaging, trade communication, digital campaigns, or retailer-facing materials—the buyer is left with only one thing to compare: price.

That’s the trap. Apples become “just apples,” carrots become “just carrots,” and the legacy, care, and quality that growers pour into every acre are invisible. The cost of silence isn’t just a missed opportunity; it’s the gradual erosion of value.

Buyers and Consumers Want More

Persistence is about multiple touchpoints. Silence removes those touchpoints entirely. Retailers, under constant pressure to differentiate themselves, are eager for stories they can share with shoppers. Consumers, surrounded by packaged goods that spend billions on marketing, expect to recognize and connect with what they see in the produce aisle.

If we don’t provide that story, someone else—or nothing at all—will fill the gap. And in that void, produce categories risk being judged on the lowest common denominator: what’s cheapest that week.

Silence Undermines Trust

Consistency builds trust because it shows reliability. Silence, on the other hand, introduces doubt. If packaging looks generic, if sales materials don’t reflect product quality, if digital presence is nonexistent—what conclusion does a buyer draw?

Trust in produce is fragile and cumulative. Just as persistence in marketing builds brand equity slowly over time, silence chips it away with alarming speed. It signals to buyers and consumers that your product is interchangeable.

Breaking the Silence

The cost of silence is measured in lost margin, missed loyalty, and invisibility in a crowded marketplace. Breaking that silence doesn’t mean one loud campaign or a single clever ad. It’s about showing up consistently—season after season, impression after impression.

The Final Word

Awareness builds slowly, requiring persistence and patience. Silence, by contrast, erases progress quickly. In produce marketing, the absence of a voice doesn’t preserve your market position—it accelerates commoditization.

The companies that commit to telling their story, even when results aren’t immediate, are the ones that build recognition, trust, and long-term value. Those who stay silent pay the price.