Produce and the city: In Mexico's capital, fruit and veg are stars

Produce and the city: In Mexico's capital, fruit and veg are stars

In Mexico City, fresh produce vendors dot the busy streets making healthy snacking convenient and colorful.
In Mexico City, fresh produce vendors dot the busy streets making healthy snacking convenient and colorful.
(Photos: Jennifer Strailey)
by Jennifer Strailey, Nov 22, 2023

MEXICO CITY — At The Packer, we're more than a little obsessed with fresh produce. So, wherever our work or personal travel takes us, we carve out time for produce retail sightseeing.

With this pictorial of Mexico City's Soriana supermarket, we launch Market Crush, a new series featuring retail produce purveyors who are crushing it when it comes to dynamic displays that drive shoppers to buy. We hope you're as inspired by the produce artistry in this series as we are.

We are also putting these examples of produce merchandising excellence on the map — literally. Check out the interactive map at the end to see other produce retail pictorials and PMG Produce Artist Award Series winner locations. Be sure to check back often to see the latest additions.

And we want to hear from you. Which produce departments around the world make you swoon? Email us at [email protected] and tell us where to go produce shopping next.

Soriana in Mexico City
Fresh food awaits at this Soriana grocery store in Mexico City.

Founded in 1968, today Soriana has more than 800 stores in Mexico in a variety of formats, including hypermarkets, club stores, express locations and traditional stores. It serves more than 520 million customers a year, according to its website.

Flaunting fresh

Years ago, I interviewed a New York City-based Italian grocer who described his merchandising philosophy as “abbondanza” or abundance. When I shop this Soriana in Mexico City, I'm reminded of that conversation. I would argue that there's merchandising artistry aplenty in the age-old: “Stack them high and watch them fly.”

Soriana avocado display
Avocados anyone?

 

Soriana watermelon display
Watermelons that wow

 

Mangoes at Soriana
A mountain of mangoes in Mexico City

The merchandising masters at this Soriana know color blocking front to back. Every fruit and vegetable stands out from onions to cucumbers to tomatoes and peppers.

Soriana color blocking
Red, white, green and purple produce pops

 

Colorful produce at Mexico City's Soriana
Perfectly ordered peppers play with Brussels sprouts, beans and more to create colorful displays.

 

Soriana Mexico City
Color, freshness and abundance define the merchandising strategy in this dynamically displayed produce department.

 

Soriana citrus
Citrus shines at Soriana in Mexico City.

 

Soriana pineapple display
Look before you buy. Sliced pineapples tempt shoppers at Soriana.

More Market Crush

Check out some of our other visits on the map below. Zoom and click on a location to view a link to its own page. You can also view the map in a larger window by clicking "Open Map" in the bottom right. (And don't forget to send location suggestions to us at [email protected]!)









Become a Member Today