Growing up on a small farm that grew corn and soybeans and raised sheep, goats and chickens in southern Minnesota turned out to be a great building block in the career of Kirk Soule—who is now the chief executive of Blue Book Services, an organization he joined in the spring of 2023. Soule, who is quick to point out that since 1901, the company has been the leading provider of credit and marketing information for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, welcomes the opportunity to put his stamp on the Chicago, IL-based company.
Organized, patient, fun-loving and strategic, Soule is the consummate professional—a man who makes a point of using people’s names regularly in casual conversation and is comfortable offering encouragement to coworkers and other professionals in his orbit.
His first job out of Wheaton College was at Target’s headquarters followed by consulting work with a variety of retailers such as SuperValu, Albertsons, A&P, SEG and Price Chopper. Soule stayed in retail and went on to a corporate internship at Walmart while earning his MBA at Duke University. It was his time spent at retailers where Soule learned about “the complexities of the retail supply chain, the day-in, day-out grind of sitting at the desk and the importance of focusing on the consumer.”
Soule also says his consulting days taught him plenty more useful lessons that inform him professionally to this very day. “I loved my consulting days—seeing the partnership between the beginning and end of the supply chain is absolutely fascinating—growers bring an expertise and focus to a category that can’t be matched, and the retailers have an equal appreciation for the end customer’s total needs.”
Now married with an infant son, Soule and his wife Edith spend virtually all of their spare time in the company of one-year-old Nathan. “And, we love every minute of it,” says Soule, who now resides in Nashville, TN.
How has it been coming back to the produce industry?
I love coming back to produce, especially since I grew up on a farm. It’s been like coming home for me. It’s fantastic being a part of an industry that’s good for people of all ages.
How does your experience support/inform you in your role today?
My time growing up on a farm and working in retail provides me with great appreciation for all parties in the produce supply chain. Also, my prior work building out supply chain analytics has given me a great appreciation for what is possible. Technology helps structure data so that people can make the best decisions, especially in produce. It’s very true that tech informs decisions, but relationships build businesses.
With such a diverse audience there must be a myriad of ways that Blue Book is utilized. Can you give me insight as to the myriad of ways, and ideas you might have for expanding that base?
There are many different ways that people use Blue Book. One of the core uses is by finance and credit teams to review the creditworthiness of customers. To that end, our ratings team collects more than $30 billion worth of accounts receivable data in the produce industry. Other ways that folks utilize Blue Book include sales professionals who use it religiously to identify sales leads, and customers who use the platform to stay up to speed on the industry.
What was your introduction to the company, and how have your perceptions evolved?
I was certainly impressed with Blue Book’s legacy when I was first introduced to the organization in 2022. The evolution has only manifested a deeper appreciation once I met with customers; on a recent trip where I visited growers in Bakersfield, CA and Delano, CA, it was humbling for me to see the print Blue Book on executives’ desks and hear how their teams depend on it on a daily basis.
Blue Book has a long history of leading the produce industry through technological changes. How do you envision building on that legacy as AI becomes more pervasive?
When Blue Book first started we used horses, trains and telegraphs to gather data about the produce industry, but today, it is the only company that has a produce industry-specific predictive credit score. We’re working on a number of new products that will take us deeper into AI including supply chain scores and using LLMs (large language models) to make searching Blue Book more conversational. What we’re really focused on is not just pushing AI but using data and technologies to seamlessly solve our customers’ needs independent of the technology or data source.
What steps do you think the produce industry could take to attract more talent?
I think there are two elements for improvement; first to provide tools that help bridge the gap between new hires and veteran industry employees. Second, it’s clear the industry is not short on data, but we are short on the experience that can take us from data to insights to action.
What opportunities do you see for how producers and retailers do business?
I think this is a big opportunity for the industry—especially with the constant turnover that exists. Buyers are focused on cost alone because they lack the experience to make more nuanced decisions on the basis of quality and performance. So, we are working on a procurement tool that will help retail buyers better evaluate suppliers’ capabilities and performance with an improved focus on innovation, quality and consistency.
What’s next for Blue Book?
There are a few areas of concentration the staff is focusing on in the foreseeable future. One is improving and evolving our product; it’s a living product that is continually maturing to meet our customers’ needs. Blue Book has more than a century’s worth of experience evaluating companies, and so we are working on ways to codify that expertise.
You love the notion of bringing farmers and retailers together; how are you doing that, and what does it bring to each constituency?
This question touches on an aspect of my job that brings me great joy. I have such sincere respect for both sides of the supply chain, and it makes me super excited to find ways to bridge the gap between growers and retailers. Blue Book currently is working on a new toolset that will help retail buyers better understand their suppliers’ capabilities. Right now in the retail sector there is a race to the bottom with a singular focus on cost—so this tool will hopefully build tighter relationships between buyers and growers.
Where do you spend the bulk of your time in your role, and what might an average day be like? Do you travel much for work?
I travel about two weeks per month—one week to visit Blue Book’s corporate office in Chicago to work with staff and the other week on the road meeting with customers.
From your perspective, what are some interesting and little-discussed ways you see the produce industry changing?
I would say one thing that has struck me recently when meeting with table grape growers is the explosion of different varieties of new grapes. Twenty or thirty years ago there were only five or six main varieties of grapes, but today there are over 100 varieties. I think that message needs to get out more to the public as it speaks to the growing complexity of the industry and the supply chain.
What do you think the produce industry as a whole needs to do in the next five years?
There are two things I would love to see the produce industry do more. I would love to see the industry adopt more of a leading role when it comes to technology; I see technology as augmenting human intelligence, not replacing it. I would love to see the produce industry highlight its intrinsic and medicinal benefits to the public at large. This is something that guarantees produce will be top of mind and continue to play a vital role in this ever-evolving world.
What was the best piece of advice you ever received, and from whom did it come?
My first week as CEO of Blue Book, Jim Carr (the former chief executive officer of the company) advised me first and foremost: you must have fun. I think about that every day and try to take his words—that it’s okay to have fun—to heart.
