Meet the Alumni: Justin Creasy – It’s Fresh!

More than 30 years after completing the MDS programme, Justin Creasy is still finding ways to be part of the MDS story.

Having joined the programme in 1993, Justin has gone on to build an impressive career across the food and fresh produce industry, working in technical, quality and management roles before becoming Technical Services Director at It’s Fresh! But his connection with MDS didn’t end when he completed his placements.

This year, as MDS marks its 40th anniversary, Justin returned to our Annual Conference to share his experience and insight with the next generation of Trainees. Having once been in their position himself, it was a fitting way to mark more than three decades since his own MDS journey began.

We asked Justin to look back on that journey, the impact MDS had on his career, how the industry has changed, and what advice he would give to today’s Trainees.

Can you tell us a bit about your career journey since completing the MDS programme?

I completed my MDS in 1993 and, as my final placement in the north of Scotland, found myself managing a potato co-operative that supplied Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Iceland. I continued in that role for two years.

Whilst I loved the business and the people, the climate, and especially the winter and lack of sunshine, was difficult for me. So, I moved to the other end of the country and became a farm manager for two years, before becoming one of the first group of auditors for Red Tractor.

There, I found myself auditing Barfoots, only to discover that I wasn’t really auditing them – they were auditing me! I joined them as a Technical Manager in 1998, becoming Technical Director in 2000, a role I continued in until 2014.

I then went on to work as Group Technical Director for Produce World and Technical Director for Wealmoor, before joining It’s Fresh! in 2018, where I am today as Technical Services Director.

Looking back, what impact did MDS have on your career, and are there any experiences or lessons from the programme that have stayed with you?

MDS provided the means to explore your skills and abilities in a CV- and career-friendly way, understanding what you are good at, what you are not so good at, what you enjoy and what you don’t enjoy.

There is no way I could have mapped out my career in the way I did without the experience I gained through MDS. Just as importantly, it highlights the type of company and environment in which you might thrive, and those in which you might only survive… and clearly, they are not the same thing!

You’ve built a successful career in the industry and are now Technical Services Director at It’s Fresh! What have been some of the biggest milestones or achievements along the way?

I saw the development of computers and the role of software during the first part of my career and adopted this as early as I could. I would never say I am tech-savvy, but I knew what the expectations of my customers were, both internally and externally. From 2000, I was keen to develop a software system that could help manage Quality Assurance, support ambitious teams to develop themselves and better manage ‘work’ every day.

A good outcome from this is that people can recognise what a good day looks like, what a bad day looks like and identify how to improve it. Good intelligence allows this, and this is the fruit of such a system.

This system took a couple of years to develop, but became the first fully integrated QA system that worked with an ERP system, allowing an integrated solution for QA management. The QA element was eventually renamed Greenlight by Muddy Boots, but the key was being able to work it within an ERP system.

It was great seeing people move away from paper-based systems and, despite their initial fear of using a Toughbook, within a fortnight they were cemented into the new system. It is never easy, but with a great team and the right attitude, anything and everything is possible. If you can manage the fundamentals of a QA system, you can then focus on the fun stuff of building a stronger and more successful business.

Having a structured, logical approach to the supply of fresh produce to retailers is relatively simple. Firstly, make it look good and convenient so people want to buy it – ‘Would I Buy It?’ – and then, even more importantly, make the experience worth repeating – ‘Would I buy it again?’

Failing this, you have a growing problem. This simple approach can simplify something that all too often is fluffy, confusing and adds cost whilst delivering little value. Food safety and everything associated with this is a given. Customers see no value in this because it is what people expect. Showing what matters is crucial, and identifying this is the difference between good and great.

Passion is also key and, for me, is the difference between good and great.

From your perspective, how has the food and fresh produce industry changed since your time as an MDS Trainee?

It has got way too confusing, with businesses trying to segregate their good, better and best value propositions, and inevitably confusing the elements of value and cost. Customers are not stupid and, for me, this is why our society’s diets are so wrong. Cheap food should not be unpleasant.

A great example of this is selling a pack of immature, ‘kids-sized’ apples that are not ripe and trying to market them as kid-friendly for their lunchbox. It is about as naïve and stupid as you can get. Has anyone tried eating and comparing these apples with ripe apples, and looking at acidity and sweetness values? It is very wrong. (I did say I was passionate!)

Putting a bad eating experience into a child is guaranteed to put them off the experience of eating good fruit for life. This is just one example, but setting up a spreadsheet to utilise all available crop can lead to decisions like this. There needs to be a mechanism to challenge those decisions and ask: is this right? ‘Would I Buy It?’ and, perhaps more importantly, ‘Would I eat it again?’ Simple.

Thinking back to when you first joined MDS, is there any advice you’d give your younger self or today’s Trainees?

Enjoy the journey as much as the outcome and follow a set of principles that help determine your judgement. They may change and evolve, but they set you up strategically.

I followed the P’s:

Product – know your product better than your customer, at least.

Price – know your value and cost.

People – have great people that care.

Passion – if you don’t care, why should anyone else?

Packaging – fit and purposeful (and ideally have RYPEN technology!).

Process – make sure it makes sense and is properly measured (time and temperature).

There is plenty more, but this covers the basics!

Finally, what does MDS celebrating 40 years mean to you?

It seems crazy that MDS is still unique in the economy as a whole. The vision that the founders had – in a very competitive environment – to work together to help bring in the next generation of managers is incredible.

I attended the 40th Anniversary Conference and was simply blown away by the next generation coming forward. Hopefully, my son will join and be part of the evolution of this, and hopefully support its wider adoption into other countries and industries, as the mechanism should be equally successful and applicable.