Dec 14, 2021

BrightFarms’ elevates Abby Prior to chief commercial officer; expansion set

BrightFarms, a national player in growing indoor leafy greens, announced Dec. 7 that Abby Prior has been promoted within the company to chief commercial officer. She will spearhead the newly-formed commercial team, a convergence of the company’s sales and marketing groups.

The new structure will allow BrightFarms to grow rapidly over the next five years, expanding growing capacity tenfold to reach two-thirds of the U.S. population by 2025.

Prior was previously SVP of sales and marketing, and has spent a total of over six years with BrightFarms across business development, sales and marketing roles. She introduced the greenhouse-grown model to some of BrightFarms’ earliest retail partners, who remain some of the company’s most committed customers as the team has grown and delivered on its promises over the years. Prior represents the next generation of industry leaders, having recently been appointed as the marketing and merchandising industry expertise director for the International Fresh Produce Association.

“As we work to expand our footprint across the country and grow our presence in current markets, there is no better person to lead us there than Abby,” Steve Platt, BrightFarms chief executive officer, said news release. “She will play a pivotal role in accelerating growth with our valued partners, going above and beyond to ensure their needs are met at every point of the process, from greenhouse to store shelf, and into people’s refrigerators.”

The commercial team will place retailer relationships at the center of everything they do as they implement best-in-class store programs and unmatched customer service, helping to educate grocery shoppers on the benefits of BrightFarms’ fresher, tastier, longer lasting salad greens.

The sales side has adopted a new structure split between day-to-day sales operations and strategy. BrightFarms has promoted Matt DiNitto to VP of Sales Operations and Regional Accounts and Suzy Dollak to VP of Sales Strategy and National Accounts who will lead the divisions respectively. Altogether, the team consists of 16 sales and marketing professionals and is expected to grow in the coming year.

BrightFarms is growing in the indoor farming industry in retail availability, recently reaching the 4,000 store mark with the addition of lēf Farms’ Northeast customer portfolio.

The New Hampshire-based greenhouse was acquired in June 2021, marking BrightFarms’ entrance into Whole Foods, Hannaford and Shaws. A 2-acre expansion is currently underway, with plans to turn the facility into a 14-acre hub for the New England region. The lēf team has been welcomed into the fold, with all 20 employees continuing to work with BrightFarms in various positions, including on the Commercial team.

With Cox Enterprises onboard after its August acquisition of BrightFarms, the company is poised to continue its expansion across the U.S., going from 16 acres to 180 acres under greenhouse glass in the next five years alone.

For more information about BrightFarms and its fresh produce offerings, visit here.