The “King of Late Night” Johnny Carson did it with his opening monologue. So did Jack Benny with his opening remarks.
The “Muppet Show” theme song grabbed our attention (both kids and adults) with, “It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights … It’s time to raise the curtains on the Muppet Show tonight …” And who can forget the original, black-and-white “Our Gang” children’s TV program as they frequently created a stage performance to raise money for any number of their worthy, scripted causes?
All were the prologue for something exciting to occur, something worth capturing our interest.
Shakespeare once said, “All the world’s a stage.” And as the entrance point for many stores, the produce department makes for great theater — or at least it should.
I’ve occasionally touched on this concept over the years. The idea behind theater is to slow down customers just a little to get them to pay closer attention to an eye-catching display and linger just a bit longer.
This also partially explains why staples such as eggs, bread, or milk are typically found in the farthest points of a store, compelling consumers to trek past everything else that is stocked. It’s a fact that the longer a shopper stays in a grocery store, the more they are likely to purchase.
So why not apply the same logic to produce merchandising and aspects of available theater?
Years ago, we had fresh-squeezed orange juice machines in plain view at all our stores. Customers were captivated by the oranges as they dropped, gravity-fed from the open hopper above, down a chute where a rubber cup mechanism methodically coaxed the delicious juice, visible beyond the Plexiglas shield.
The machine hissed while the spent orange dropped with a thud into the unseen barrel below. The orange zest filled the air with a tantalizing aroma. A clerk then filled various sized containers and placed them on the wet rack ice bed. On most mornings, it was tough to keep the section stocked.
In short: The juice machine a-peeled to all the senses, as good theater will do.
Related: More insight from Armand Lobato
We did the same thing in later years, positioning hand-operated pineapple corers on the sales floor during peak shopping hours. A clerk worked in plain view, coring and packaging the fresh pineapple. We sold them on ice beds at the same price as the uncored pineapple. On a busy Saturday, we’d easily sell a dozen cases, compared with perhaps one or two cases if we only relied on a passive, uncored display.
Some chains have an on-floor kiosk or a visible work area where clerks prepare in-store cut fruit. This is by far the best way to prepare and sell this high-profit, fresh offering. This category sells at a brisker pace if the preparation is done in full view of shoppers. It’s fresh, irresistible and, yes, produce theater at its finest.
Also, just the sight of any stocking, offering a sample, explaining a product’s details or telling its story is an effective, informal example of produce theater. When a clerk or manager makes this subtle effort, they have the attention of more than a single customer.
Even something as simple as the sampling mentioned can be a form of theater. I hear customers reference how they like shopping at chains that offer sampling. But how many chains routinely sample fresh produce?
You can sample using the passive method, where you put out trays of unattended samples, but the best way to garner attention, enabling the theater aspect, is with active sampling — having a clerk cutting and handing out samples and talking up the item to customers.
Many chains employ a sample demo team that rotates throughout the store. Try to work them into produce and see how many extra sales you can get with sampling, especially for items customers may not be as familiar with, or get them to try peak-season treats such as a new apple variety, mangoes, roasted chili peppers or a slice of crisp jicama enjoyed with a spicy dip.
Sampling is a labor and product investment with a ROI, which helps build your fresh reputation and reaps ongoing rewards with added sales and gross profit.
As we venture into 2024, your New Year’s resolution-minded customers are especially tuned into fresh produce and eating healthy. Any effort to create a little theater will slow them down. Appeal to their senses every way you can and see how that shopping cart naturally fills up a little more with fresh fruits and vegetables.
As Ed Sullivan used to say, “It’s going to be a really, really big show.”
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.