Chris Mittelstaedt
Chief Banana
“One of my favorite memories is bringing my three kids down to the warehouse on a Sunday. I was removing bananas from our ripening area so that they could breathe properly for Monday delivery. While I stacked and unstacked bananas, worrying about which were ripening too fast and which too slow, my kids built a fort out of banana box tops. I remember looking at how happy they were and it made the hard work feel worth it. Plus it was a good reminder for life, like kids, we should strive to make things fun. Enjoy and be fruitful!”
Erik Muller
Chief Cultivator
“One day I gave a friend a tour of our facility and walked him through the steps of how we get our fruit to how we deliver the product to our customers. He was amazed by the level of detail and told me: “If you can create a system to educate and deliver tangible wellness to the workplace, you have an opportunity to make a very big impact on the world.” Every day I try and fine tune the equation to help streamline our service.”
Erin Mittelstaedt
Vice President of Operations
“My nickname use to be plum-body. My dad affectionately named me this because as a child I loved plums. I’d grab a plum from the refrigerator and pull out a secret shelf from the bottom of the oven where I’d sit and snack. This was my plum eating spot. Who knew then I was already prepping my taste buds for a job with The FruitGuys where I’d get to try all different kinds of fun fruit. Too bad there’s no oven with a secret shelf in my office.”
Nicole Wagner
Customer Care Manager
“On one of my first Banana giveaways, I was standing on a corner handing out bananas. I handed a banana to a woman who had already received one. As I turned, she threw the banana back and it hit me in the head. Although she ducked and ran I still think she was just trying to get the banana back in the box. The lesson I learned that bananas are great to eat but they aren’t a toy. Someone can always lose an eye.”
Rafael Garcia
Packing Foreman
“I really like the smell of all the fruit.”
