Easter typically ranks around third or fourth on the grand scale of yearly holidays for grocers. It follows July Fourth, Thanksgiving and Christmas. All things considered, that's some pretty stout company and more than worthy of a produce manager's attention.
It's important to prepare a produce merchandising plan now in order to take advantage of the potential sales during this all-important holiday week. Here are my top 10 tips to handle the holiday in stride:
1 Easter dinner is all about produce:
When we get past the rabbit, Easter is all about produce. Pineapple with ham, apples in Waldorf salad, mashed potatoes, vegetable side dishes, trays of relish veggies — produce makes an appearance from appetizers to dessert. It's important to recognize the scope of the holiday and lobby now for extra display space and added labor to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.
2 Review last year's holiday notes:
You did take notes last year, didn't you? Look over important things such as previous years' order guides, marketing bulletins, ads and labor schedules. These will give you a glimpse into what to expect for this coming holiday. No notes? Give a trusted co-produce manager in the area a call, and ask for his or her thoughts and advice.
3 Map out a merchandising “floor plan”:
Secure any outlying area now in your department for added display space. This is also a good time to talk to your store manager and lay claim to added outdoor or lobby space. Any extra display real estate will enable you to build large, primary or secondary displays to help maximize Easter sales. Once secured, map out your plan.
4 Produce placement for high-volume items:
Think mass displays for pineapple used in fruit trays and ham pairing and spill-over displays for traditional power items such as apples, oranges, bananas, grapes, pears, lemons and limes that may also be used for garnishes and libations. These are just a few of the top volume heavy-hitters. Vegetable power items requiring extra holding power for Easter include bagged potatoes for mashing; other vegetable side dishes are asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes. Spread out displays as much as possible, rather than pile up for best impression, as this is the most practical way to stock and rotate.
5 Relish space for the relish items:
It's hard to be long on celery, green onions and parsley. Other “relish” tray items that move well are peppers, mushrooms, radishes, tomatoes, baby peeled carrots, snap peas, broccoli and cauliflower florets. It isn't unusual to sell four times the normal amount of relish items going into the Easter weekend. So these warrant multiple facings.
6 Ingredient items surge:
Holidays, including Easter, naturally dictate that many a grandma's recipe is pulled out for use. So often-overlooked items such as cabbage, onions, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, garlic, horseradish and avocados will all spike in sales to at least some degree. It's best to order with a day or so of “safety stock” in mind to prepare and react.
7 Fresh herbs – the forgotten category:
Fresh herb sales catch more produce managers off guard every holiday than anything else. Another area that's hard to be long on, fresh herbs will surge in sales. Savory, sage and thyme pair well with protein dishes, basil appears in salads and pesto, and rosemary finds use in potato dishes and garnishes. Try to stay at least one day ahead on inventory.
8 What's for dessert?
At Easter, no other volume item demands more attention than fresh strawberries. Used in fruit trays, salads and especially desserts, strawberries are in their peak season for flavor and value, and they will require an end-cap or equivalent (perhaps a secondary display) to keep pace with sales. This is also the best opportunity for outside departments to promote tie-in items such as shortcakes, pies and whipped cream. All help drive sales during Easter week.
9 Incremental sales:
Little and often fills the purse, as one ancient saying goes. That is exactly what you can expect when you add all the “extras” to your Easter holiday merchandising plan. Promote dry packets, which are used to make dips and sauces, on clip strips near your broccoli or asparagus displays. The same thing goes for the refrigerated section. Ensure you order enough backup supply of dressings, sauces and dips. Similar to fourth-quarter sales, customers often buy incremental items, such as sun-dried tomatoes, marinated mushrooms and artichoke hearts, during Easter week. These items are often otherwise slow-movers.
10 Notes for next Easter:
The first chance you get after Easter, take time to make notes for next year. List all the things that went well and all the things you can improve on for next year. Put this (and any helpful items, such as the order guide you used during the week, your prep and labor schedules, a copy of the ad and display photos) into a folder and file it away. Next Easter, when you're once again ready to make plans, these notes will help immensely. With time, things will actually get easier and more manageable.
Once your Easter plan and tentative labor schedules are complete, review everything with your store manager and your crew. Order expecting the best quality. Move forward with your merchandising and merchandise according to your plan. You'll benefit from optimal sales, minimal out-of-stocks and a healthy bottom line.
That's a bunny trail anyone will want to follow.