This Month in Produce Retailer
Welcome to This Month in Produce Retailer
On this page you can access all of the columns and feature articles in this month’s issue of Produce Retailer magazine.
Ultra High Demand
When Miami-based Burger King and Subway started slathering on the mashed avocado last summer, guacamole manufacturers cheered.
“People used to think avocados were bad for you, when in fact it’s just the opposite,” said Tracey Altman, vice president of brand marketing for Saginaw, Texas-based Fresherized Foods, makers of Wholly Guacamole. “Now that quick-service and fast-casual restaurants are showcasing avocado in their products, consumers want to do it at home.”
Three steps to ideal produce department sanitation
The produce director popped in unexpectedly. He picked at sticky, half-full grape containers with a disappointed look and asked why the display case hadn’t been cleaned. The clerk rambled off the usual litany of excuses. The director wasn’t having any of it. Especially one:
“No time?” He asked. “Why is it that there’s never enough time to do something right the first time, but there’s always time to fix it later?”
Go Bananas
It’s easy to get complacent when it comes to merchandising bananas — a top-selling item in most produce departments.
But rather than sitting back and letting the product move through its own momentum, successful retailers to take advantage of the fruit’s popularity to lure customers by maintaining good-sized sets — often complemented by secondary displays — and promoting them often.
Independents' Day
While major supermarket chains tend to grab the industry spotlight, the fact is, about 40% of grocery stores in the U.S. are independently owned, according to retail consultant W. L. Justin & Associates LLC, Alpharetta, Ga.
And that’s often where you’ll find the most innovative thinking.
Brookshire's gets FRESH
You wouldn’t expect to find fresh truffles in a produce department in east Texas.
But the Fresh by Brookshire’s has them — along with about five different kinds of radishes, a plethora of tomatoes, several kinds of cooking greens, exotic citrus like Buddha’s hand — and just about anything else you’d expect to find at a high-end specialty food store in a major market.
CATEGORY SPOTLIGHT: Specialty Fruit
Although specialty fruits account for a small percentage of produce department sales, the category is steadily growing. Its rise is driven by multiple factors, including exotic flavors entering the mainstream, growth in its core consumer base and increasing numbers of households purchasing the category across the U.S.
