In Their Words: PCC Community Markets' Kevin Byers

Kevin Byers is senior produce merchandiser for PCC Community Markets, a natural foods cooperative with 13 locations in the greater Seattle area. The largest community-owned food market in the US, PCC has over $300 million in sales and carries more than 7,000 organic items. It was named Outstanding Independent Retailer of the Year for Sustainability by the Progressive Grocer in both 2019 and 2020 and was WholeFoods Magazine’s 2016 Retailer of the Year. Kevin joined OPN for a conversation about PCC’s produce sourcing standards, its longstanding relationships with local growers, how it maintains a competitive edge, and more.

How did you get started working in the produce industry?

As a kid, my stepdad was actually a farm manager, so I spent most of my early life on a farm in Washington state. And then I did what a lot of kids do—I ran away from it as fast as I could. I moved to Seattle for college, and I needed a job, and PCC was near the college, so I got hired on as a cashier. A couple years into it, I was moved to the produce department because they needed some help, and when I got over there, I realized that that’s exactly where I was supposed to be—it felt like home. After I graduated school, I saw that there was a career path here, and I really liked what I was doing, so I stayed. It’s a great place to work, and I’ve been with PCC for 18 years now.

What percentage of PCC’s produce is certified organic?

It ebbs and flows, but 95 percent is our floor. As we get into our more local season and in certain times of year, it can actually get higher than that.

What are PCC’s sourcing standards for its organic produce? 

Organic is our bar, and then from there is local. And so organic is definitely our priority. However, since we are a co-op that started as a food buying club where affordability was a factor, there are a few items that we carry year-round that we dual-line—we’ll carry the conventional item even though we have it in organic because there can be a very large retail price difference (like double the price).

What are some of the dual-line items?

The big dual-line items are asparagus and brussels sprouts. We also carry conventional jicama and young coconut year-round because it’s just so hard to get an organic counterpart for those two items. Everything else comes and goes because of the availability, and there are some items that we just choose to be out of if there’s no organic option.

What percentage of your produce is local?

It varies by season, so it’s difficult to come up with a number. For the vast majority of the year, apples, potatoes, and onions are going to be local. When it comes to what we carry in our wet sets (the veg that’s getting misted), pretty much everything is going to be from a local farm from about late May through September.

Do you source directly from any organic farms, or do you purchase everything through wholesalers?

We have many direct relationships with local farmers, and they are something that we are very proud of. Many of them are relationships that span 20-30 years. We don’t have our own distribution center or our own trucks, so I do have to get some help logistically. We partner with Peterson Fruit, a local distributor. They’re the ones that are going to my local farms to pick up the orders I’m putting in. Peterson Fruit doing the logistics has been a huge benefit for us.

Do you do production planning with your local growers?

Yes, we do. We meet with all of our growers. In a perfect year, we meet with them before the season and after the season to talk about what went well, what didn’t go well, and areas of opportunity—where trends are going.

As we expand, we are lucky enough in the last couple years to bring on some new farms. For years and years, we weren’t able to bring on any more farms because we didn’t have the volume for them, and now that we’ve gotten bigger, we’ve been able to bring on some more. Farms that I’ve had relationships with for 30 years are not going to lose store share because somebody new wants to come in. But there are always opportunities to grow some items that I don’t yet have direct, and so I usually ask newer growers to go out on a limb and grow some of those items, and I guarantee them that I’ll purchase them.

Are there any particular farms that you source from directly that you’d like to mention?

I’ll give you the ones we’ve been working with for a long time—Rent’s Due Ranch, River Valley Organics, LaPierre Farms, and Scott Leach Orchards. The newest farm of those four came to us in 1996!

What wholesalers/distributors do you work with?

Our biggest one that we work with is Organically Grown Company. And then we also work with Peterson Fruit Company and Pacific Coast Fruit Company.

What trends in organic produce have you noticed over the years?

Organics in general have obviously increased—and they’ve increased drastically in the last five years. I think more and more people are starting to realize the benefits of organic. And the price difference isn’t as big as it used to be, which is turning more people onto it. And I think once people get turned onto it, they’re tasting how much better it is.

In terms of specific items, celery’s been insane. I heard there was a juicing craze. All of sudden, last year, sales increased like threefold—it’s crazy! And two years ago, cauliflower became a hot commodity. We’ve also really seen the different colors of produce start to pop—anything purple sells really well.

How does PCC stay competitive with other retailers that offer organic produce in the greater Seattle area?

The benefit that PCC has is that we’ve been doing this a very long time. This isn’t a fad that we’ve jumped onto. One of the things that we really pride ourselves on is that we have stuff that you can’t get anywhere else. We’ve been supporting the small- and mid-size organic grower for so long that we have relationships that other retailers don’t have. The majority of our local direct stuff ends up being on our shelf within 24-36 hours after it was harvested. Not many other retailers can do that.

Also, because of the standards that we as a company have, people know when they walk in the door, they can trust what we’re doing. And because organics are what we’re known for, we sell through product a lot faster. So we’re always putting the freshest, highest-quality produce out.

How has the COVID-19 situation been affecting PCC?

It’s been pretty crazy! One of the things we’re seeing obviously is sturdier items are going though the roof—your potatoes, onions, garlic, ginger. As people make less trips out of their house, they’re definitely stocking up on things that they feel can store better. And we’re seeing an increase in items that are perceived as beneficial for your immune system—that’s where ginger comes in and citrus, too. Even though we’re definitely winding out of citrus season, we’re still seeing a lot of people buying citrus.

We’ve also sold a lot of cooking veg. As restaurants are closed and people have more time to cook at home, they’re being thoughtful about making sure that they’re cooking a round diet. So it’s definitely been crazy busy. But we haven’t had many out-of-stocks. I’m really proud of our store staff—it’s been a herculean effort!

What’s your favorite part about your job?

The best part of the job in a lot of ways is being out on the farms, and it’s also the people that I work with—from our store staff to my vendor community to my farmers. For me, it’s really those relationships that are most important. I also worked out of the stores for many years, and we have a great customer base, so I have long-term relationships with some customers just from seeing them so much in stores.