Conventional vs. Organic Fresh Fruit Delivery: What’s Right for Your Office?

Fresh fruit delivery for the office just makes sense. Studies show that eating whole fruits can bring employees all kinds of health benefits, from a lower risk of illness (including heart disease, depression, and anxiety) to increased brainpower and higher productivity. The real challenge is picking the right kind of fruit for your team—should you opt for organic fresh fruit delivery or stick with conventional?

7 Things to Consider When Choosing Your Fruit

Here at The FruitGuys, we’ve worked with small farms across the country to deliver organic and conventional fruit to employees since 1998, so we’re familiar with the pros and cons of each option. Here’s a list of seven things you should consider when choosing the right fruit for your break room, snack stations, or remote employee deliveries. 

1. What ‘Organic’ Really Means

Before you decide on conventional vs. organic fresh fruit delivery, consider reviewing what the organic certification actually covers. There are a lot of misunderstandings out there! Here are just a few fast facts to help you make an informed decision.

• Organic farmers can’t use most synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.
• Organic fruit often has lower levels of pesticide residue, but it’s not necessarily pesticide-free. 
• All organic fruit is non-GMO (not genetically modified). 
• Some studies show that eating organic can lead to better health outcomes, but the scientific jury is still out on whether organic food is more nutritious than conventional food.

We have an in-depth look at organic certification here. It digs into all of the nuances, including why some farmers choose to use organic practices without getting certified.

2. Your Budget

It’s no secret that organic fruit often costs more than conventionally grown fruit. Organic certification is expensive for farmers, and that trickles down to customers. When you’re choosing your fruit, ask yourself: “What’s my budget per employee per week, and is organic fruit feasible within that range?” 

Even if the price difference is small—here at The FruitGuys, we charge just $3–$5 more for some of our organic fruit mixes, although the gap varies by mix size—it may be the deciding factor. 

3. Your Company’s Values & Culture

Does your company prioritize being eco-friendly, sustainable, and wellness-focused? Do you use those buzzwords in your marketing, make organic products, or encourage your team to make green choices? If so, picking organic fruit could be a great way to align your wellness program with your values. Think of it as a subtle way to stay consistent with your brand and reinforce a culture of care and eco-consciousness. 

4. Employee Values & Preferences

It’s important to consider your team’s values as well as your company’s. Do your employees have strong feelings about the environment? Do they worry about the impact of pesticides on their health? If so, organic fruit might have a bigger positive impact on their happiness at work than conventional fruit. However, maybe all that matters to them is having a fresh, tasty option in the break room. Send out a quick wellness survey to find out! 

(Side note: If your employees are worried about GMOs, that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to pay extra for organic produce. Just look for companies like The FruitGuys—we don’t include GMOs in any of our fruit mixes.) 

5. Availability & Variety

Do you want to bring a wide variety of fruit into your workplace, or are you in the market for a few staples, like apples and bananas? Conventional options are often more abundant and consistent year-round, while organic fruit can have shorter seasons or be trickier to find consistently. If variety is your priority, going conventional may be the best choice for you. 

Here at The FruitGuys, our conventional Harvest Mix includes our widest variety of farm-fresh fruit, although we have an organic version with a lot of variation, too. (We’ve been working with some of our farm partners for more than 20 years—they give us a variety edge!)

6. Shelf Life & Delivery Frequency

Organic produce may have a shorter shelf life than conventional produce because organic food can’t contain artificial preservatives. Organic farmers can use non-synthetic waxes to extend the shelf life of their fruit, but the options are limited, and many choose not to. 

So, consider how often you’d like to have your fruit delivered and how quickly your team might eat it. If you’re planning on weekly or monthly deliveries and expect the fruit to disappear slowly, conventional fruit might be your best option. If you want daily or biweekly deliveries—or have a lot of fruit fans on your team—organic fresh fruit delivery will fit the bill. 

7. What’s Local to You 

Last but not least, consider what matters more to you: supporting small, local, family farms or buying organic? Sometimes, those two things go hand in hand, but not always.

Some areas—like the West Coast of the US—have more organic farms than others. Those places typically have friendlier climates and more financial resources. If you work in an area where organic farming is difficult, opting for conventional fruit delivery might be the best way to support local farmers. 

Get Started with Conventional or Organic Fresh Fruit Delivery for Your Office

When you’re ready to move forward with recurring fruit deliveries, consider browsing The FruitGuys’ farm-fresh fruit mixes. We’ve delivered fruit to offices for more than 25 years now, and we have it down to a science. Plus, every box you order from us—conventional or organic—gives back. We donate a minimum value of 20% of our annual profits to feed people in need and support small farms. You can check out our fruit options here and learn more about our GoodWorks program here.