Editor's Note: Our people on the front lines are the last connection, the last shot we have to influence consumers’ produce purchase decisions. Starting with this issue, Produce Retailer magazine is featuring exceptional in-store personnel, winners of the 2017 United Fresh Retail Produce Manager Awards.
The program, sponsored by Dole, recognizes 25 produce managers, the “best of the best” in produce departments across North America. While the big celebration dinner is held at United Fresh in Chicago this month, Produce Retailer plans to celebrate these winners all year.
Stay tuned for more over the coming months as we recognize these exceptional produce professionals.
PR: How long have you worked in retail and produce?
BW: I have been working in retail for almost 13.5 years, and although I help other departments from time to time, I have worked in produce the entire time. I grew up in a very large family (11 children) and we had a 2 acre garden that us kids helped take care of and sold some to a local market, so I have been doing produce all my life.
PR: What do you love most about your job?
I love so many things about my job, but probably my favorite is that I believe in produce. I enjoy helping guests find healthy alternatives to sugary snacks and carbs. I love that this next generation of kids loves to eat produce and that I get to be a part of helping them try new items that they would never
think of eating.
PR: What’s your biggest challenge as a retail produce manager?
The short shelf life — it is a balancing act of making sure you never run out of any given product, which could leave your guests without a crucial ingredient to their supper, and not having any extra which will leave the department throwing product away and be a loss for the company.
PR: What has changed most in the produce department in the past five years? 10 years?
So much variety has been introduced into the produce department as people continue to desire to want to try more things. Convenience items have become huge: ready to go, precut, quick meal solutions are becoming an essential part of the produce department. When I first started part time, precut fruit and veggies were in a small corner tucked away — not even a four foot shelf. Today in Isanti, we have an entire case designated to fresh cut fruit, veggies, and fresh pressed juices.
PR: What are some fruits and vegetables whose sales are growing faster than others right now?
Zucchini and spaghetti squash as they are a way to cut carbs and yet still have your “pasta noodle” feel.
PR: What do you think the produce industry should do to raise consumption?
It’s all about the kids and the next generation. Getting produce to be part of the diet when a person is younger will create a habit that is long lasting.
Another thing that would be rather difficult to change (maybe impossible) would be if there is a way to make fresh produce last longer. I hear a lot of my guests say how they would like to buy more fresh produce but the problem is that they feel they throw most of it away as it just doesn’t hold up as long as when they buy it canned or frozen.
PR: What are some things you wish consumers understood better?
We deal with weather around the world, and how it affects our sizing, our products legs, flavor and availability. Produce is grown and not made, therefore not everything is going to be perfectly universal year round. We do our best to only carry quality. Often times that means rejecting shipments and being out of a product for a while.
PR: What would you tell someone who was thinking about getting into the retail industry?
Every day is a new day and it is wonderful! Not only are there the constant season changes but also the changes of the times. You will be managing a lot of challenges, but you will never feel bored in your work. It is a competitive industry, and I couldn’t imagine not being a part of it.
Our people on the front lines are the last connection, the last shot we have to influence consumers’ produce purchase decisions. Starting with this issue, Produce Retailer magazine is featuring exceptional in-store personnel, winners of the 2017 United Fresh Retail Produce Manager Awards.
The program, sponsored by Dole, recognizes 25 produce managers, the “best of the best” in produce departments across North America. While the big celebration dinner is held at United Fresh in Chicago this month, Produce Retailer plans to celebrate these winners all year.
Stay tuned for more over the coming months as we recognize these exceptional produce professionals. —Pamela Riemenschneider
PR: How long have you worked in retail and produce?
BW: I have been working in retail for almost 13.5 years, and although I help other departments from time to time, I have worked in produce the entire time. I grew up in a very large family (11 children) and we had a 2 acre garden that us kids helped take care of and sold some to a local market, so I have been doing produce all my life.
PR: What do you love most about your job?
I love so many things about my job, but probably my favorite is that I believe in produce. I enjoy helping guests find healthy alternatives to sugary snacks and carbs. I love that this next generation of kids loves to eat produce and that I get to be a part of helping them try new items that they would never
think of eating.
PR: What’s your biggest challenge as a retail produce manager?
The short shelf life — it is a balancing act of making sure you never run out of any given product, which could leave your guests without a crucial ingredient to their supper, and not having any extra which will leave the department throwing product away and be a loss for the company.
PR: What has changed most in the produce department in the past five years? 10 years?
So much variety has been introduced into the produce department as people continue to desire to want to try more things. Convenience items have become huge: ready to go, precut, quick meal solutions are becoming an essential part of the produce department. When I first started part time, precut fruit and veggies were in a small corner tucked away — not even a four foot shelf. Today in Isanti, we have an entire case designated to fresh cut fruit, veggies, and fresh pressed juices.
PR: What are some fruits and vegetables whose sales are growing faster than others right now?
Zucchini and spaghetti squash as they are a way to cut carbs and yet still have your “pasta noodle” feel.
PR: What do you think the produce industry should do to raise consumption?
It’s all about the kids and the next generation. Getting produce to be part of the diet when a person is younger will create a habit that is long lasting.
Another thing that would be rather difficult to change (maybe impossible) would be if there is a way to make fresh produce last longer. I hear a lot of my guests say how they would like to buy more fresh produce but the problem is that they feel they throw most of it away as it just doesn’t hold up as long as when they buy it canned or frozen.
PR: What are some things you wish consumers understood better?
We deal with weather around the world, and how it affects our sizing, our products legs, flavor and availability. Produce is grown and not made, therefore not everything is going to be perfectly universal year round. We do our best to only carry quality. Often times that means rejecting shipments and being out of a product for a while.
PR: What would you tell someone who was thinking about getting into the retail industry?
Every day is a new day and it is wonderful! Not only are there the constant season changes but also the changes of the times. You will be managing a lot of challenges, but you will never feel bored in your work. It is a competitive industry, and I couldn’t imagine not being a part of it.