WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The first time I talked to Greg Corrigan, we were at a trade show, but not where you'd expect.
It was Fruit Logistica in Berlin, in 2013.
He was the only U.S. retailer I saw cruising the mega show, but now that I know him, it makes sense that I ran into him where technology, innovation and products unknown here in the U.S. are found.
“His willingness to experiment with new ideas, and get behind programs with full support,” is what makes him exceptional in the industry, says Don Goodwin, president and founder of Golden Sun Marketing, Minnestrista, Minn. “Focused on creating strong partnerships between brands and retailers, Greg and his team exemplified what we believe is the best way to bring a product to market.”
Super sweet Amaize corn? Greg demo'd it to managers using ice cream cones to emphasize its dessert-like flavor.
Speaking of sweet corn, we stood out in Dave Vierra's corn field for the cover shoot for this magazine, and Greg did his best to convince Vierra to grow Amaize — which can be finicky and difficult to grow — simply based on the amazing eating experience (pun intended). The field was less than 10 minutes from the closest Raley's store, too, by the way.
Greg's been with Raley's Family of Fine Stores his entire career. Like many in the industry, he started as a clerk while attending college. After he earned a degree in business administration from Sacramento State University, he decided to stay in produce. He was a produce manager for nine years. In 1998, he was promoted to district produce and floral supervisor for Raley's southern division, and in 2000 he was promoted to director of produce and floral.
Since then, he's built strong relationships in the vendor community. Raley's is known for its local produce, and it's hard not to do local being so close to much of the U.S.'s most fertile growing regions, but it's more than having buyers with ready access to the field.
Over the past few years the Teel family has taken its chain of 120+ stores in Northern California on a journey, a transformation to change the way people eat, and produce is at the forefront of this new mission.
New stores have a greater focus on health and wellness, larger assortments of natural and organic offerings, more competitive prices in produce, and generally put health and wellness at the forefront.
I took some time with Greg to talk Raley's new mission and how his team fits in with the innovation and change.
Pamela R.: It's a good time to be in produce at Raley's — what's been happening with your company's mission over the past couple of years, and how does produce fit into that?
Greg Corrigan: Raley's vision is to infuse life with health and happiness by changing the way the world eats, one plate at a time. We strive to help educate our customers on how to make more informed decisions when purchasing food. We have introduced several industry-leading new programs to support our vision, including Raley's Shelf Guide and our “better-for-you” check stands. Produce plays an important role in our customers' health and wellness — we want to make our produce department a highlight of our store experience, offering high-quality produce selections at an affordable price.
PR: Produce has a new look and a new role in Raley's store design. How does it help set the tone for customers' shopping experience?
GC: Opening new locations has been an exciting opportunity for Raley's to refresh our produce department. In all new locations, the produce department is predominant in the front of the store. We are also offering more merchandising outside to grab the customers' interest early. We have introduced new products at these locations, like jackfruit. With the support of in-store demos for tasting and education, we have received favorable customer feedback. >>>
PR: What excites you about bringing something new to market?
GC: As a family-owned business, we have the unique opportunity to be agile and make adjustments that meet the needs of our customers. It's always exciting to bring something new to the market, especially when Raley's can be the first and exclusive in our trade area. We have some great partners that bring us new specialty opportunities. For example, Raley's recently introduced a new hybrid melon called Hello Melon, a product created by Bayer Crop Science in their innovation lab. These special melons are exclusively sold at Raley's.
PR: What are some other memorable promotions, programs and/or collaborations with the vendor communities?
GC: Our produce department is our most sought-after department. To keep this department seasonally relevant, we have created several memorable programs. One important program was the introduction of the personal watermelon- Raley's was first in the market to offer personal size watermelons. We want to be innovative and ahead of other retailers to offer our customer an exclusive experience.
We saw incredible feedback from our customers when we brought in Holiday Seedless grapes. We were fortunate to have great relationships with our farmers like the Caratan family that allow us to offer these specialty items.
PR: Local. It's hard to talk about Raley's without talking about local produce. What makes the local program at Raley's unique in the industry?
GC: At Raley's, we are fortunate to be located in Northern California, close to so many great local growers. We take full advantage of our location and build relationships with our local farmers. We implemented a program called “Living Local,” where we partner with local farms within 50 miles of each store to offer the best fresh offerings. For example, in Sacramento, we feature local growers like Dave Vierra from West Sacramento, who offers black watermelon, squash and other favorites. We also share their farmer story online in Raley's Stories and in-store with signage. Raley's sets the standard for quality, affordable produce to offer the best local offerings to our customers.
PR: Organic also has become more of a focus for the company as a whole, and for produce. How has that category grown, and can you describe your commitment to offering an ever-expanding lineup in stores?
GC: We have grown our organics program significantly over the last five years, with some years growing as much as 30% annually. Our customer response and interest in organic offerings has increased dramatically and we have responded by offering hundreds of organic offerings. We are continuously looking for new items.
PR: Tell me about the Produce is our Passion program. When did it get started? Whose idea was it, how does it work, and what lasting effect do you see on your team?
GC: At Raley's we're proud of the personal relationship we have with our growers. The Produce is Our Passion program was started in 2006 to promote our incredible produce offerings during our peak season. Our goal is to appropriately merchandise our store, while educating our customers about our unique offerings.
To do this, we take our produce team leaders on a two-day tour visiting grower partners and processing facilities. We want our leaders to have a better understanding of the production and special qualities of the items in our store.
PR: How instrumental is it to have the right team supporting produce's mission?
GC: It takes a lot of talented people to execute our dynamic produce program. The most important piece is our store team members who implement our program on a daily basis. Raley's team members are passionate about making high-quality produce available to our customers at a great value. We have highly engaged team members who strive to educate our customers about how produce fits with Raley's vision around health and wellness.
PR: What keeps you enthusiastic, engaged and excited for the next steps at Raley's?
GC: There is never a dull moment in the produce and floral industry! And there is nothing more rewarding than working every day to provide high-quality products at a value to millions of customers. We are constantly innovating and looking for the next exciting variety, offerings or new grab-and-go items we can bring to our customers.
PR: What do you love about the produce industry?
GC: The produce industry is special because of the people involved. Our industry truly has so many passionate people striving to grow great products that are great quality, healthy and delicious. The process from seed development to reaching the plate for a meal involves many passionate people in our industry and I am grateful to be a part of that process.
Congratulations to Greg Corrigan, director of produce, Raley's Family of Fine Stores, our 2017 Produce Retailer of the Year.