The Texas International Produce Association delivered high-impact education at the 2026 Viva Fresh Expo, equipping produce leaders with both real-time market insights and a forward-looking strategy to compete in a rapidly evolving global landscape.
Headlining the education program, futurist economist Richard Kottmeyer of FutureBridge challenged attendees to look beyond consumer-related volatility and rethink how fresh produce can be positioned as a higher value, health-linked, consumer-relevant category over the next decade.
The keynote introduced “consumomics” — FutureBridge’s lens on how policy, economics, healthcare and consumer behavior are converging to reshape demand and consumer purchasing — and unveiled the whitepaper and executive summary, now available to industry members.
Strategic roadmap for the industry
Dante Galeazzi, TIPA president and CEO, said the keynote was designed to push members beyond reactive thinking.
“Viva Fresh is about giving our members the tools to win, not just today, but well into the future,” Galeazzi said. “This keynote wasn’t about reacting to disruption. It was about understanding the forces shaping demand and making smarter, long-term decisions that position our industry for growth.”
The whitepaper, developed in partnership with FutureBridge, provides a strategic roadmap for produce companies to evolve beyond transactional selling toward demand-driven merchandising strategies rooted in consumer relevance, health outcomes and value creation.
Key takeaways from the keynote
The keynote outlined several major themes for the future of the category.
Fresh produce is becoming part of the preventive health economy and a tool in everyday wellbeing. The next frontier is biological relevance — focusing on merchandising for needs like energy, fullness, hydration, glucose control and healthy snacking.
Demand will be driven beyond the produce aisle by healthcare, GLP-1 use, school nutrition, wellness programs, sustainability and affordability. Merchandising must become decision science linking needs, pricing, health, occasions, waste and repeat buys.
Top companies will create demand using education, clinical credibility, retail media, personalization, recipes and benefit-led storytelling.
TIPA is providing access to both the whitepaper and executive summary to ensure members can translate these insights into action. FutureBridge is available for consultation projects to help companies put strategy into action.
Market mayhem pulse check
Complementing the forward-looking keynote, the interactive Market Mayhem session — led by Galeazzi and ag economist Dr. Michael Swanson of Wells Fargo — delivered a real-time pulse check on how macro forces are impacting produce businesses today.
Using live audience polling, the session revealed a nuanced reality: while headlines are constant, their actual impact varies, and operators must separate signal from noise.
What more than 100 industry respondents said
Among the key findings, 78 percent of respondents said headlines impact decisions at least somewhat, but only 22 percent said “a lot.”
On global conflict, 77 percent reported “some disruption,” while only 13 percent labeled it “market mayhem.” Tariffs remain a divided issue, with 59 percent believing tariffs raise prices and 45 percent disagreeing.
Labor and immigration emerged as the most immediate pressure points. Sixty-nine percent said immigration-related issues are causing disruption or “market mayhem” today, and labor ranked as the No. 1 issue expected to impact business moving forward.
Political and policy environments are widely felt, with 95 percent saying current political policies are impacting their business. Consumer pricing behavior is less predictable than assumed — a majority of 58 percent said consumers are not highly sensitive to price changes.
Reframing the value of produce
Kottmeyer said the industry’s next opportunity lies in changing how produce is perceived rather than how it is grown.
“The industry’s next breakthrough may not come from growing more, shipping faster or discounting harder,” Kottmeyer said. “It may come from changing how the market understands the value of fresh produce. The contrarian opportunity is to stop defending produce as a perishable commodity and start proving it as infrastructure for health, affordability, food security and quality of life. That is where the next growth story will be written.”
Galeazzi said the data confirms a complex but navigable environment.
“These results reinforce what we’re hearing across the industry; there’s no single force driving change,” Galeazzi said. “Labor, policy, global conflict, and consumer behavior are all interacting at once. The companies that win will be the ones that stay focused, interpret the data correctly, and make strategic, not reactive decisions.”
Together, the keynote and Market Mayhem sessions delivered a unified message: the future of fresh produce belongs to companies that can balance short-term realities with long-term strategies.
“As a $100 billion dollar industry, the opportunity in fresh produce has never been greater, but neither has the complexity,” Galeazzi added. “Our role at TIPA is to bring clarity to that complexity and give our members the tools, insights, and confidence to grow and the Tex-Mex corridor is the place to do it.”
About The Association
Founded in 1942, the Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) promotes, advocates, educates and represents the nearly $13 billion in fresh produce that is either grown in the state or calls Texas the first point of U.S.-arrival for North American distribution.
[RELATED: Viva Fresh Expo 2026 Sets Attendance Record With Nearly 2,900 Attendees]