We're delighted to be joined on today's episode by Juliemar Rosado, director of retail and international marketing for the National Watermelon Promotion Board. The NWPB hosts a merchandising contest every year that encourages stores to move more watermelon not only by building big, creative displays in July and August but also by incorporating all manner of digital marketing tools into their plans, from social media features to website promotion to ad flyer QR links that send shoppers to recipes. Juliemar discusses great examples the board has seen from participants over the years, how the group evaluates entries, sales increases that respondents have reported, the benefits that go beyond those immediate year-over-year increases, and much more. Enjoy!

This new podcast series is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Recent topics include planning and goal-setting for 2022, customer service, creating theater in the produce department, managing shrink, deepening partnerships through field trips, and much more.  

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It's that time of year once again — the 25 honorees of the International Fresh Produce Association's Retail Produce Manager Awards Program have been selected and are gearing up to attend next month the event formerly known as Fresh Summit, now the Global Produce & Floral Show. Tyler Doggett of Corner Market is one of those honorees, and he and vice president of fresh Price Mabry join the podcast to discuss how Tyler got his start in produce; what he enjoys most about the work; the attributes and accomplishments that prompted Price and the company to nominate Tyler for this recognition; what both are most looking forward to about having Tyler attend the show in October; and much more. We hope you enjoy the conversation and look forward to hosting more of the superstar produce managers recognized by the IFPA in the coming months!

This new podcast series is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Recent topics include planning and goal-setting for 2022, customer service, creating theater in the produce department, managing shrink, deepening partnerships through field trips, and much more.  

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Four Seasons Produce senior merchandiser and natural stores coordinator Brian Dey returns to the podcast to discuss all things fall, with topics including peak-season categories like apples, pears, hard squash and potatoes; SKU walks and assortment adjustments; the impact of big-picture challenges like inflation and labor on strategy and merchandising; tote bags, multiple pricing and other best practices; and more! 

If you enjoy this conversation with Brian, be sure to check out our discussions with him in previous episodes, including those focused on planning and executing seasonal resets and strategically going big with displays.

This new podcast series is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Recent topics include planning and goal-setting for 2022, customer service, creating theater in the produce department, managing shrink, deepening partnerships through field trips, and much more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're excited to welcome longtime produce retail executive Jay Schneider as our featured guest this episode. Jay is the head of buying for the U.S. marketplace for the grocery delivery service Gorillas, and prior to that he enjoyed a more than 20-year stretch at Acme Markets, including more than a decade as produce director. In this conversation, Jay discusses how he helped Gorillas create the infrastructure for produce for its U.S. business, from quality control, to assortment, to promotions, to working with suppliers in a different type of business model, and much more. He also covers the differences of working for a traditional grocer versus a startup, and he provides insight on how Gorillas has continued to build its business in the U.S., focused on the New York City market, while other fast-delivery startups have bowed out. Thanks so much to Jay for the incredible perspective — hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!

This new podcast series is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Recent topics include planning and goal-setting for 2022, customer service, creating theater in the produce department, managing shrink, deepening partnerships through field trips, and much more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guests on this episode retail dietitians Lorena Kaplen of H-E-B, April Sins of Rouses, and Carrie Taylor of Big Y for a roundtable discussion on promotional plans for National Fruits & Veggies Month. We want to give a big shout-out to the Produce for Better Health Foundation for bringing this group together! PBH develops resources to help retailers bring National Fruits & Veggies Month to life in stores and online and works with many retail dietitians as part of that effort. In this conversation, Lorena, April and Carrie cover their promotional plans for National Fruits & Veggies Month; the timeline and collaboration behind the scenes leading up to it; where they get the content they use for this program; some of the most popular elements of National Fruits & Veggies Month promotions from previous years; and what new elements they're most excited about. We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!

If you're interested in learning more about the work of retail dietitians, check out our previous retail dietitian roundtable from earlier this year that featured Carrie Taylor of Big Y along with Emily Parent of Coborn's and Megan Sedivy of Fresh Thyme Market. You can also find more examples of RDs involved in innovative marketing in this April episode with PBH's retail accounts manager Annette Maggi. 

This new podcast series is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Recent topics include planning and goal-setting for 2022, customer service, creating theater in the produce department, managing shrink, deepening partnerships through field trips, and much more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Industry veteran Armand Lobato, who has spent time as a produce manager, produce supervisor, produce buyer and more over the course of his career, joins us again to discuss an easily overlooked part of the produce manager role: managing people. The technical knowledge and skills required of the position — understanding commodities and seasonality, business essentials like inventory and shrink, deal-breakers like food safety and more — are so numerous that they can sometimes overshadow the core responsibility of any management role: helping your team members be as successful as possible. Armand discusses a range of topics within this realm, including different management styles, managing people older or more experienced than you, making sure the performance review is a positive, "no gotchas" experience, training best practices (like what to carry on the sales floor at all times) that stand the test of time, and more. Armand's anecdotes from his days in stores — including his reflections on the best leader he ever worked for and why he made such a lasting impression — will provide practical ideas that can easily be put into action. Hope you enjoy the conversation!

This new podcast series is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Recent topics include planning and goal-setting for 2022, customer service, creating theater in the produce department, managing shrink, deepening partnerships through field trips, and much more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's episode features the second part of a conversation with longtime produce retail executive Scott Schuette on the topic of creating excitement in the produce department — with the goal to improve the experience both for shoppers and for team members. This segment of the discussion focuses on the latter, as Scott gives examples of benefits and workplace adjustments that could help retailers retain the people who are so pivotal in creating a great atmosphere for shoppers. In last week's episode, Scott discussed other ways to create excitement in the department, from bringing in new items to investing the corporate produce budget differently. Over the last 35-plus years Scott has served in leadership roles with Fresh Thyme, Sprouts and Bashas, and he’s been recognized as Produce Retailer of the Year and Specialty Food Retailer of the Year, so he brings excellent perspective on all these topics. Enjoy!

This new podcast series is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. It is hosted by consultant and produce industry enthusiast Ashley Nickle. If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to check out our archives to hear from folks including Mike Tipton of Schnuck Markets and Mike O’Brien – previously of Schnuck Markets and now with Monterey Mushrooms; Mike Roberts with Harps Food Stores; Kevin Byers with PCC Community Markets; Mark Kruchinsky with Gerrity’s, and many more. Thanks for listening!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's episode features a conversation with Scott Schuette, a longtime produce retail veteran who has generously joined this podcast frequently to discuss topics including writing the ad, breaking down barriers between departments, pricing strategy, and many more. Today our conversation with Scott focuses on creating excitement in the department on a variety of fronts, from bringing in new items, to merchandising more aggressively, to changing how the corporate produce budget is invested, to providing training and resources for employees. Over the last 35-plus years Scott has served in leadership roles with Fresh Thyme, Sprouts and Bashas, and he’s been recognized as Produce Retailer of the Year and Specialty Food Retailer of the Year. Enjoy his perspective in this episode and join us next week for more from Scott in the Part 2 episode!

This new podcast series is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. It is hosted by consultant and produce industry enthusiast Ashley Nickle. If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to check out our archives to hear from folks including Mike Tipton of Schnuck Markets and Mike O’Brien – previously of Schnuck Markets and now with Monterey Mushrooms; Mike Roberts with Harps Food Stores; Kevin Byers with PCC Community Markets; Mark Kruchinsky with Gerrity’s, and many more. Thanks for listening!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're familiar with Ashley Nickle, the host of this podcast, you know she's a huge fan of display contests for driving engagement among shoppers and store teams. If you listen to today's conversation with produce supervisor Ricky Holman and store director Todd Hollingsworth of United Supermarkets, you will know why she believes in this strategy — because innovative retailers like United use it to great success! Coming off a Fourth of July watermelon contest, Ricky and Todd discuss the planning that went into the event on a regional level and on the store level; their strategy with contests in general; the impressive lift they saw from this year's huge push on watermelon; and the effect they find contests have on driving positive competition and improved performance between stores. Enjoy!

This new podcast series is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. It is hosted by consultant and produce industry enthusiast Ashley Nickle. If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to check out our archives to hear from folks including Mike Tipton of Schnuck Markets and Mike O’Brien – previously of Schnuck Markets and now with Monterey Mushrooms; Mike Roberts with Harps Food Stores; Kevin Byers with PCC Community Markets; Mark Kruchinsky with Gerrity’s, and many more. Thanks for listening!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode, we're delighted to have as our guests two longtime industry leaders, Mike O'Brien and Mike Tipton. Mike Tipton is the vice president of produce and floral at Schnuck Markets, and Mike O’Brien held that same role for 15 years before moving to the supply side, where he is now the vice president of sales and business development at Monterey Mushrooms. Mike and Mike discuss with host Ashley Nickle a wide array of topics, including labor, inflation, merchandising, value proposition, the produce department of the future, their takeaways from the recent Retail Conference, and more. Enjoy! 

This new podcast series is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. It is hosted by consultant and produce industry enthusiast Ashley Nickle. If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to check out our archives to hear from folks including Mike Roberts with Harps Food Stores, Kevin Byers with PCC Community Markets, Mark Kruchinsky with Gerrity’s, and many more. Thanks for listening!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.