ANAHEIM, Calif. — Produce industry members visited Bristol Farms, Grocery Outlet and Albertsons on a retail tour during the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit.
At the first stop, Bristol Farms in Yorba Linda, Calif., attendees of the tour passed a large and varied pumpkin display on the way into the store. A front-and-center pomegranate display with coordinated point-of-sale material made the first impression, and further into the store was an extensive berry display that included containers of hand-stacked strawberries in front of a sign that said "Welcome to Bristol Farms."
The company's stores carry more than 400 produce stock-keeping units on average, including more than 100 fresh-cut SKUs and more than 275 organic SKUs, according to an information packet distributed on the tour bus by PMA. The top-selling items for the company are berries, avocados, fresh-cut, grapes and apples.
Bristol Farms has 13 locations, and the other banner the company operates — Lazy Acres — has five locations.
Attendees next visited a location of Grocery Outlet in Placentia, Calif., where a waterfall display of roma tomatoes caught the attention of visitors as they walked in the doors. The retailer had a special-deals produce section right at the front of the store and the full produce section at the back of the store, with both bulk and packaged options.
The company's mission is to deliver "thrilling deals," according to the PMA information packet. Grocery Outlet tells shoppers to expect "brand-name groceries and farm-fresh produce at up to 40-70% off conventional retail prices."
Grocery Outlet has more than 300 locations that carry an average of 280-300 produce SKUs, including 40-60 organic SKUs, per PMA.
An Albertsons location in Fullerton, Calif., served as the finale to the tour, with an along-the-wall pumpkin display and nearby displays of other fall items immediately turning visitors' focus to fall. The store emphasized organics with a wall of organic packaged salads near the front of the department and several large standalone displays that proclaimed "organic produce" with point-of-sale material.
Albertsons stores carry approximately 1,500 produce SKUs on average, and fresh produce represents more than 15% of total store sales, according to the PMA information packet. Top-selling produce items for the company are avocados, strawberries, packaged salads, cut fruit and grapes. About 12% of Albertsons' produce sales come from organic items.