I've spent the past 15 years learning about sustainable and equitable grocery supply chains and harnessing the buying power of retailers to support passionate, mission-driven producers. As Director of Category Management and Purchasing at Good Eggs, I oversaw assortment, merchandising, and purchasing for the premier e-commerce grocery delivery and meal kit service in California during a time of rapid expansion and supply chain challenges. During my 7+ years with Good Eggs, I built and scaled the produce & floral program, brought the structures and strategies I’d developed in those categories to the meat & seafood categories, and then to all other categories, including center-aisle, pet, and non-consumable CPG.

From non-profit administration to teaching at school gardens, and from getting my hands in the soil on farms to starting an on-campus farm to supply my college cafeteria with hyperlocal fresh fruits and veggies, my pre-retail background gave me glimpses into a wide variety of food systems work. My first job in San Francisco was as a produce clerk at Bi-Rite Market. As Store Manager and Head of the Produce & Floral department at Bi-Rite as we expanded into a second market, I gained valuable insights into the mindset of an important and trend-setting consumer base, and I fell in love with the power of a retailer to connect with consumers in a way that creates a tangible impact on producers.

Throughout my time in the grocery retail world, my work has always been driven by the passionate growers, ranchers, and producers I’ve been fortunate enough to work with, who pour every part of their being into growing, raising, and making our food. Their dedication towards ecologically and socially responsible food production is what inspired me to start Sungold Consulting, so that I could use my expertise in grocery retail to best support them and the ecosystem of social enterprise businesses that allow them to thrive.

The power of a retail buyer is one that is more often than not abused for the sake of eking out as much margin as possible. This generally comes at the expense of the producers and suppliers who are farther upstream in the supply chain, and is ultimately borne by externalized environmental and social costs that impact all of us, but especially those who are already marginalized and underserved. My goal at Sungold Consulting is to support people and businesses across the supply chain who are actively working to subvert that traditional power dynamic: those who want to create and repair systems for better food and a better world.