I don’t know where the last 20 years have gone, much less this past year. However, with each January calendar rollover comes the waves of resolutions for the new year. The number one resolution we all hear about? Right. Got to lose some weight. Ugh.
If the resolution isn’t from you, or from your circle of relatives or friends, the message is clear on every single television station, as every other commercial is diet- or weight loss-related. Everyone is selling pricey exercise equipment and gym memberships or pushing low-calorie diets and premade meals delivered right to your doorstep. After all, you wouldn’t want to exert any effort to walk down the street to purchase these on your own, would you?
We in the produce industry always shake our heads quietly this time of year over all this hullaballoo.
Why? It’s probably because nothing services the public good and nothing offers all the New Year’s resolvers more incentive to lose weight in the coming months than purchasing and consuming — you guessed it — more fresh fruits and vegetables.
Your challenge, my post-harvest produce marketing specialists, is to merchandise your department accordingly.
Customers buy with their eyes. We all know that mantra. The question is: How does your produce department appear to the customer eyes? Produce departments can be either vibrant, exciting and inviting — or they can be a total turnoff.
Related: Read more insight from Armand Lobato
The ideal, inviting produce department for the resolution-minded shopper is:
Clean — How’s your sanitation? If you routinely scrub your tables, your rack and your exposed surfaces and clean your mirrors, table edges, chrome and everything else in sight, your customers will respond in kind. A clean ship is a happy (and primed-for-optimal-sales) ship.
Fresh — Ensure your produce department is regularly rotated, constantly culled, and stocked with the absolute freshest produce available. Order closely to ensure frequent inventory turns. Fresh produce is more likely to be consumed than wilted, close-dated or tired-looking fare. Keep it fresh, and sales will be brisk.
Stocked with lots of variety and selection — These are two very different things. Variety is having multiple apples, citrus, etc. types on display to choose from within a category. Selection is having plenty of each individual variety on display from which to select. Carry as many SKUs as are available and give each variety as much linear space as possible.
Has abundant (or abundant-looking) stock levels — The bigger visual you can put in front of your customer, the better value it is perceived as. If your store struggles to support too much inventory on display, consider dummying up the base of the surface to make the display appear larger than it really is. Thus, making it more appealing while still easy to rotate and keep fresh.
Competitively priced — Merchandise your in-season or on-ad items prominently so that the great price point is obvious. When you shout this aspect out, especially when coupled with fresh and abundant displays, you will drive more sales and help the health-conscious New Year’s-minded shopper.
Well signed — Diet-conscious shoppers want to know calorie counts, sugar grams, nutritional information and more. Tell the story, and whenever possible, offer a sample.
Staffed by knowledgeable, friendly clerks — How’s the training with the newer clerks? Do you routinely talk up your produce with your crew or on the floor with your customers? You should. For example, “The Texas red grapefruit we have now are extra-sweet and peak season in the winter. Feel how heavy they are for the size! Beautiful, healthy and delicious.”
You don’t necessarily have to pander only to the resolution-minded shopper. Just be aware that many such shoppers are arriving every day, waiting for you to impress them. With all that fresh produce has to offer in the way of color, aroma, taste and low-calorie satisfaction, it just takes a little extra effort to help them meet their New Year’s goals.
— Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His 40 years of experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions.