Fowler Scholars Deliver Fresh Ideas to Major Produce Company
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Students in the Fowler Scholars program have been working with Taylor Farms, one of the nation’s largest producers of salad kits and produce, to provide the company with in-depth marketing research and sales recommendations targeting Gen Z consumers.
The Fowler Scholars program consists of 19 students from SDSU’s Fowler College of Business who have been selected based on their academic achievements and leadership potential. The program was designed to develop ethical business leaders by providing students with unique experiential learning opportunities.
To gain a deeper understanding of Taylor Farms’ business model and product line, the students flew to Salinas, California on October 3, 2025 to visit the company’s headquarters. During the visit, they toured the facilities and met with Taylor Farms marketing team and product managers to gather insights and data for the project.
The group returned to San Diego that evening with new ideas and a clearer direction for how to move forward with the project.
Led by Juliana Seltzer, the team conducted nationally-based focus groups,targeted surveys and an SDSU-based sensory panel to collect and analyze consumer feedback.Once the results were tabulated and analyzed by the Fowler Scholars team they were turned into a full, confidential report which was presented to Taylor Farms on April 27, 2026.
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“We were able to develop strategic recommendations based on key insights to bridge the gap between Gen Z’s expectations of healthy fresh salads and Taylor Farms’ product offerings,” said Seltzer, an SDSU senior majoring in marketing.
Taylor Farms senior vice president Bryan Jaynes was among the company representatives on hand for the presentation.
“The Fowler Scholars were a delight to work with throughout this seven-month endeavor,” he said. “They confidently and clearly presented their final product and marketing recommendations, which were directly applicable to our business, our brands and our objectives to deepen engagement with Gen Z.”
While Taylor Farms was provided with professional-caliber marketing research results for a key consumer sector, the Fowler Scholars that worked on the project came away with real work experience to prepare them for their post-graduation careers.
“The project gave me the opportunity to take on a leadership role with a team of incredibly bright and talented individuals, all of whom brought unique strengths to the table,” said Seltzer. “From start to finish, I got to experience a real-world business project with an incredible company which went beyond classroom learning to provide the necessary skills and applicable experiences, not only to succeed in the business world, but to thrive.”
