For a retailer that isn't accessible to most of the country, the Wegmans name sure does get around.
The Rochester, N.Y.-based retailer got some press last week after Consumer Reports declared it had the best produce in the U.S.
How did they come to this conclusion?
Well, it's part of their annual Supermarket and Grocery store ratings – a list that includes only 62 retailers, by the way. Customers are asked to rank their stores based on a number of criteria in each department.
Wegmans was the only retailer to receive top scores (on a scale that includes poor, fair, good, very good and excellent) in produce quality, produce quantity and quantity of local produce.
Consumer Reports isn't sending independent auditors to all of these stores and comparing them, which the headlines sometimes make it seem is the case. This is feedback from customers, which is no less valid, of course.
In an article explaining why Wegmans scores so high in produce, Consumer Reports talked with Burt Flickinger III, a well-known retail analyst.
Flickinger said Wegmans turns its produce three times more often than a standard retailer, and credited Wegmans for a strong commitment to local, even in a cold, Northeastern climate.
“They're the leaders working with hydroponic, natural and organic greenhouse produce growers,” he told Consumer Reports. “Whether the temperature is 92 degrees or 9 degrees below zero, their produce is typically local.”
But, looking at the list, I'm wondering about consumer perception.
Consumer Reports says the only other grocery store to come close to Wegmans produce ratings was St. Louis-based Dierbergs. An “excellent” rating in “local produce quantity” pushed them ahead of San Antonio-based H.E. Butt, and Raley's Family of Fine Stores.
How is this possible? West Sacramento, Calif.-based Raley's scored a “very good” in local produce quantity, but I don't think I've ever seen a chain that carries a higher percentage of local produce, year-round. Perhaps people in the “Farm to Fork Capital” (Sacramento) are under-rating Raley's?
Dierbergs, no doubt, does a great job sourcing local, but they can't carry more than Raley's.
It's all about the marketing and customer perception. For example, Monrovia, Calif.-based Trader Joe's scored “fair” in produce variety. Have you seen the number of watercress SKUs they have? Or arugula? Or brussels sprouts? They carry a ridiculous number of SKUs in their stores. I see more wacky stuff in Trader Joe's than I see anywhere else.
Take these “most popular” and “best” lists with a grain of salt.