At the American Pecan Council and American Pecan Promotion Board Meetings in Dallas, Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays had the chance to visit with the CEO of both groups, Anne Warden.
“It is a real honor to be able to work for pecan growers in the industry,” Warden said. “I have a deep passion for being able to work for farmers. I have a big belief in the importance of making sure consumers understand where their food comes from, but the reason I came to the pecan industry is because we are sitting on this goldmine of a food product that is chocked full of nutrition that has this incredible taste that consumers love and has so many more versatile uses than many other products. We have a ton of potential to grow, and I want to be a part of that.”
Warden said it is an advantage as a commodity to have both the American Pecan Council and the American Pecan Promotion Board working toward the same goals.
“The American Pecan Council has the ability to promote American pecans, particularly in key export markets,” Warden said. “We have programs in India now thanks to the reduced tariffs there, in China as well as Europe, countries that really have an opportunity for expansion that consume a lot of nuts but are not currently consuming a lot of pecans.”
The American Pecan Promotion Board is a valuable tool, as it allows for domestic marketing because of importer assessment and the support of U.S. pecan producers.
“Every pecan that is brought over the border into the U.S. pays an assessment, and we use those funds to not only market here to consumers in the U.S., but we can also invest in critical research, nutrition research, product research, agricultural sciences, to really fuel the messages that we can deliver around pecans,” Warden said.
With at least 20 other national state and regional pecan groups at play, Warden said it is important that everyone is on the same team.
“After talking for four months with growers and others in the industry, really recognizing that it is not just a matter of growing demand, but we really need to focus on the profitability of the pecan industry,” Warden said. “I know we have had some challenging years, and it has made it very difficult for these businesses to stay afloat, so in order for me to stay successful, I need to find marketing practices that are going to bring more value to pecans, and that is going to help support a sustainable price.”
Warden, her team and pecan industry leaders are working to bring what they are calling the “Unified Pecan Promotion Plan” on line. The program, otherwise known as UPPP, is designed to help producers of pecans and others who help deliver pecans to consumers improve their profitability.
Warden says they plan to talk with stakeholders at regional and state events in the next couple of months to get input on the plan and get buy in from the pecan industry at all levels here in 2024.
In order to ensure success in the pecan industry, Warden said one of the main focuses is on promoting the nutrition of pecans. Another priority is creating new occasions for producers to purchase pecans besides holidays and special occasions.
“We have a very nutritious and unique product to sell,” Warden said.
Warden also emphasized focusing on exports.
“The more pecans we can ship overseas, the better price we will have at home,” Warden said. “We are really going to focus on new and emerging markets like India that are 40 percent vegetarian, that have a real desire for exotic nuts, which they consider pecans to be and have a ton on exponential growth potential.”
Lastly, Warden said it is critical that the pecan industry in the U.S. is doing a good job of marketing itself.
“We are going to be focused on bringing market insights and support to different companies across the chain so that everyone can help market more effectively,” Warden said.
Editor’s Note: Ron Hays is the “Public” member of the American Pecan Council.
