Produce managers attain their skills over many years, learning everything from the difference between regular and flat leaf parsley to which mango variety tends to be the most popular and flavorful. But there’s much more to the job than product knowledge.
Produce managers typically rise through the ranks. Most I know started out bagging groceries, then joined a produce crew as a part-time clerk. After some time, this evolves into perhaps a full-time job, and then a few years later evolves and with enough interest they become an assistant produce manager.
Here’s where that path can go so many directions.
What actually sticks with an assistant? My most influential produce manager stressed two things that I in turn emphasized to other assistants: Discipline, and creativity.
I was fortunate to have worked as an assistant produce manager for several different managers, in several stores. While not necessarily the intent, transferring around helped this young charge to become exposed to several different management philosophies. As you might guess, each manager had their strengths and weaknesses. Valuable lessons gained either way.
A worn old produce manual I still have, has hundreds of pages of instruction to take to heart, if a person is so inclined.
In reality, a produce manager imparts many important points upon his or her assistant, “Build your ad displays a day before the ad actually breaks,” or “Work with our new part-timer this afternoon, focus on rotation and product handling.”
What actually sticks with an assistant? My most influential produce manager stressed two things that I in turn emphasized to other assistants: Discipline, and creativity.
Discipline, in the sense of what gets done on a daily, weekly, and seasonal basis. I found it important to get into a ‘management routine’ just as a clerk has a routine all their own. Except the manager routine meant closely assessing the department each morning. It meant writing an order, taking time to carefully weigh in all deciding factors.
Produce managers attain their skills over many years, learning everything from the difference between regular and flat leaf parsley to which mango variety tends to be the most popular and flavorful. But there’s much more to the job than product knowledge.
Other management discipline included topics such as following a sanitation schedule, a rotation and merchandising schedule. It meant writing an effective labor plan, how to train others, work with the store manager, and following up with everything from de-lidding bananas to achieving a good gross profit with minimal shrink.
Imparting creativity was another ball game. This was the fun part of produce management. The process of balancing the constant three merchandising balls in every produce stand: What’s coming off ad, managing what’s currently on ad, and planning for the impending ad the following week. This requires a bit of the ordering discipline to be certain. But it takes creativity to understand and execute displays so each has all the visual and other elements to maximize sales.
If a new produce manager can focus on the two pillars of discipline and creativity, they’ll most likely be successful, and enjoy the experience as well.
Armand Lobato works for the Idaho Potato Commission. His 40 years’ experience in the produce business span a range of foodservice and retail positions. E-mail him at [email protected].