SAN JOSE, Calif. — I checked out a Trader Joe's while in town for the Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference and Expo, and this store was doing the best job I've seen to date on signage for individual produce items.
Signs next to various stone fruits pointed out the differences between them, additional signs had selection tips, and others gave notes about the growing process and history of different items, from pineapples to shallots.
Of course you have shoppers who won't notice any of this, who arrive and hurriedly grab the same items they do every trip, but you also have a segment of people who will pay attention to these little nuggets of information, appreciate them, share them and perhaps even pick up a produce item they would not have otherwise.
Even on occasions when these signs don't prompt an incremental purchase, they do create a powerful perception: that this store is an expert in the produce items it carries, and that it is committed to giving shoppers more than just the basics.
More store checks
Store Check Junkie — Central Market in San Antonio
Store Check – Lazy Acres Natural Market in San Diego, Calif.
Store Check Junkie — 99 Ranch Market in Las Vegas