Hawkins Brothers Produce Provides Healthy Fuel For The Office
If success is based on the ability of a person or business to adapt and change, and we know it never hurts, you need look no further than to Fruit@MyOffice, a program of Hawkins Brothers Produce, for an example of a company that knows how to make changes on the move to maintain success.
Sheldon Hawkins and his brother Terry have seemingly been doing nothing but adapting since the beginning, but few periods have been as dynamic as the last couple of years with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But let’s go back to the beginning.
The story has its roots in Oklahoma where Hawkins’ grandfather came up with the idea of bringing in fruit from Texas. One complication was that the Lone Star State wouldn’t allow that to happen until the local market was satisfied.
However, that problem was soon solved. “He went down (to Texas) with Texas tags on his truck,” Hawkins said.
That was in the early 1960s; in 1965 Sheldon’s dad moved over to join the operation after leaving his firefighter job. As the business grew and spread throughout the Midwest, the idea to move further north became more appealing.
“So, we moved to Omaha,” he stated. That happened in the early 1970s, with Shelton and his brother, Terry, assuming control of the operation in 1983. They incorporated as owner-operators in the 1990s and Hawkins Brothers Produce was born.
Along the way the evolution continued as previous generations had gone door-to-door, canvasing areas with fruit sales. That ended a long time ago.
“Nobody was home anymore,” Hawkins pointed out. That was true of big and small towns and farms. So, the Hawkins brothers wondered about delivering fruits and snacks to offices.
“The biggest niche was the fruit,” Sheldon Hawkins said. “That’s a healthy alternative.”
It was an idea whose time had come. Health and wellness are an increasing focus in cotemporary America and making it easy for businesses to provide an incentive, and one that’s healthy, were the perfect pairing. A professional from Fruit@MyOffice would deliver your fruit anywhere in the Omaha Metropolitan area on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis.
What could go wrong?
Maybe, a global pandemic?
In three weeks, business fell 90% during the pandemic, Hawkins offered, but that only caused another change and after surviving the worst, he is already planning on retooling the operation.
“One hundred percent and we’re doing it right now,” he confirmed, adding an advertising campaign is coming.
Fruit@MyOffice has partnered with the Omaha Beef football team, but that’s only one idea.
Where people once sent food to families who lost a loved one, the company delivers fruit to funerals. Orders can be customized with snacks that have fewer spoilage concerns than fruits. That also reduces his risk of working with fruit, which can spoil and create waste and unwanted costs.
“It’s a real challenge,” Hawkins emphasized.
There is no typical customer, but some types of businesses are more common clients for Fruit@MyOffice.
“We’ve got real estate agents; we’ve got financial advisors; we’ve got lawyers,” Hawkins stated. Most of those orders are a business “thank you” item for referrals. Often apartment leasing offices provide fruit for new tenants.
Hawkins said he has few direct competitors, but there is an effort to separate his business from others. One way is through an emphasis on using products from local small businesses.
“These are little bitty businesses, like me – they all need that support,” he said.
Hawkins also points to the competitive prices for delivering a quality product. “We’re really reasonable.”
And so the constant reinvention continues into a future that is unknown but exciting, and this finds Hawkins full of optimism.
“I’m not dead yet… it’ll work.”
You can count on it.
Fresh fruit delivered from Fruit@MyOffice will provide the natural and sustainable energy your employees need to keep your workforce performing at their highest potential. To learn more about their fruit delivery and more visit: www.fruitatmyoffice.com.
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