What The CEO Of Plum Organics Sees For The Future of Food

When new father Neil Grimmer ventured into the business of making baby food he was motivated by the universal impulse of busy parents everywhere: he wanted to feed his two daughters wholesome, high quality food. Yet the CEO of Plum Organicsadmits that “a little bit of hubris and ton of naiveté” also were in play as he and his partners took on some of the giants in the baby food industry—a category that had quietly chugged along for years.

Today, Grimmer and partners hit their goals, and then some: The Emeryville, CA CA -0.59%-based company they created recently edged into the #3 spot in the baby food trifecta, following category leader Gerber’s (owned by Nestle ) and Beech Nut (a division of Swiss-based Hero), according to IRI. It was reported that Plum generated $93 million in sales in 2012 and is predicted to reach $100M in 2014. The company also is currently ranked the #1 organic baby food brand in the US.

Grimmer has the instincts for understanding what 21st century parents wanted from their food when it came taste and variety (he was VP of Strategy at Clif Bar and Co.). He also has the design chops (he was a Senior Designer at IDEO), which proved to be a valuable asset in his new career as baby food manufacturer: Plum was behind the now-ubiquitous pouch technology that many contend transformed the industry. Grimmer and co. are recognized as one of the leaders in the organic baby food market that has swept the industry in recent years.

A quality product and innovative packaging are just two of the reasons cited for Plum’s success which, no doubt, caught the attention of executives at The Campbell’s Soup Company  which purchased the business for an undisclosed sum in 2013. This move mirrored the consolidation that has swept the industry in recent years, primarily fueled by the growth in the organic baby food sector. The deal should be a win-win: Plum moves mature soup-player Campbell’s in a new category, while the latter can provide the baby food manufacturer with production and distribution heft.

In a conversation with Grimmer, he talks about the challenges, rewards and future of running a food company in the 21st century.

What are Plum’s success factors?

We have a challenger brand mindset, which means we look at the category conventions and challenge every one. We asked: Why does baby food have to be bland and boring? Why can’t it be culinary inspired and palatable? Can we train children’s taste buds so we set them up for a lifetime of healthful eating? Why can’t the ingredients be sourced? Today’s generation of young parents are rewriting the playbook on how to raise and feed their kids and we see this as an opportunity for the brand to help parents.

Where do you see the industry going?

There still is a huge opportunity to democratize organic and get more organic food in more households across the country. But the brands in the industry cannot go down the path of over commoditizing these foods.

How do you envision democratizing organic?

This extends to our conversation on why we partnered with Campbell’s. We believe partnering with an iconic brand can enable us to reach more households across the country.

How is the partnership going, a year in?

The narrative in this type of situation usually is that big company buys small company and small company’s values go out the window. I’m most proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish in changing that mindset. Both [Campbell’s] CEO Denise Morrison and [President of NA] Mark Alexander and I said we were going to make this a different story and three weeks after the sale, we reincorporated Plum as a public benefit corporation in the state of Delaware.

What was Campbell’s input or reaction concerning the shift to a public benefit corp?

What was exciting about this was there was no case history, and this was a really pioneering activity.

Prior to sale, I had joined with other brand like Seventh Generation and Method to pitch Delaware lawmakers to pass a new law to allow businesses to have both financial and mission goals combined in one corporate structure. I got the call 3 weeks before we finalized the deal with Campbell’s that the law passed and I was asked if I wanted to be one of the founding Benefit Public Corps. I pitched the deal to Campbell’s and within three weeks we had new bylaws written for the company. This is the tone of the relationship between Campbell’s and Plum. We see it as collaboration and are looking at how we create connections so we can strength both sides of the organization.

What’s the consumer’s role in all of this?

One of the ideas we shared with lawmakers in Delaware was that all the brands at that table were changing the fundamental dynamics of their categories. They are the growth drivers in the business and at the core of this are consumers who are voting with their dollars. This is especially true of millennials who are more likely to get behind brands that have great products and services, as well as interest in doing good in the world, as opposed to a brand with just great products and services.

That’s the hallmark of the new economy.

There is a new expectation for what corporate citizenship needs to look like and I believe the benefit corporate movement has captured that.

What’s next for Plum?

Since we launched the brand, we get stories from moms and dads saying I love the food and I snack on it when I need a pick me up during the day. And the packaging is super convenience. We realized that at the core of the baby food business is great tasting fruit and vegetable nutrition which all of us could use more of in our diets. So why not do it with more sophisticated flavors that appeal to an adult palate? [Targeted to an adult audience, Plum Vida, pouches of pureed fruit and vegetable mixes, launched in October of this year.]

Over the next 12 to 18 months, we will be telling the story behind all our brands with plenty of grass roots marketing. We need to get the message out to our core consumer. That’s our main goal at this stage.