The Produce Retail Podcast

We're delighted to have returning to the show a listener favorite, Anne-Marie Roerink! She’s the principal of 210 Analytics and renowned for her fabulous produce presentations, but in the last couple months she’s actually been at events for all different parts of the store, from meat to seafood to frozen to candy. With that in mind, Anne-Marie is the perfect person to talk with about what’s happening with consumers broadly and what it all means for produce. In this episode, we discuss how continued price sensitivity among consumers is translating in produce; the increasing concentration of produce sales, with a growing percentage coming from the highest-income households; price and value perception of produce compared to “snacks” broadly; the implications of the increase in fixed-weight produce; leveraging trends like fibermaxxing in the marketing of produce; the “changing of the guard” as millennials take over for boomers as the majority shoppers; consumer concern with waste as a financial issue rather than a sustainability issue; social media driving sales; what a continuing lower percentage of sales on promotions demonstrates about retailers' pricing and promotion strategies; the changing dynamics of which grocery channel is the first shop and which is the fill-in; how life stages factor into purchase patterns; how changing demographic realities will influence buying in the coming decade; best-by dates and their effect on consumption; texture as a total-store trend and how produce factors in; and more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome for this week's episode of the podcast Kevin Climie, senior director of produce, floral and bulk foods at Fortinos. Kevin joins the show to talk about how he chooses locations for store checks — both from a competitive standpoint and on the inspirational side; what's on his checklist to observe when he visits stores; how he looks to learn from other retailers across the country; new items the produce department has offered recently; first-quarter holidays; categories of focus for summer; and more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re delighted to welcome as our guest on this week’s episode Skylar Leonard, produce operations supervisor for Food City. We last had Skylar on the show in 2023, when he was recognized as one of the best produce managers in the country as part of the International Fresh Produce Association’s Retail Produce Manager Awards Program. In his return, we discuss how he made the transition from managing his own store, to doing that while assisting on special projects, to now overseeing produce operations for 12 stores. We discuss how he allocates his time across stores, what he looks for when he visits, how training he received years ago as a new produce manager and mentorship by his supervisor continues to pay dividends for him, the problem-solving aspect of the job that is needed when you’re working in many different environments and with different people, holiday performance, unique SKUs, local TV appearances, and much more. Thanks for listening!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re delighted to welcome to the podcast two of the foremost ripening experts in the country: Dennis Kihlstadius, CEO of Produce Technical Services, and Gary Campisi, president of Campisi Produce Consulting. They discuss both the fundamentals and finer points of banana ripening, including why ripening with external color as the guide only works 80% of the time; how to get a more precise understanding of ripening progress; the three rules of ripening Gary developed during his 25 years at Walmart; how country of origin factors into ripening; what qualifies as a good ripening room; how to sample effectively; where in the supply chain ripening happens depending on the size of the retailer; the importance of bananas as a quality messenger for the overall department; and more. Thanks for listening, and we hope you enjoy the conversation! Check out our previous episodes (170 and counting) for conversations across all aspects of produce retail.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome for this week's episode Erin Esensee, director of business development at Decowraps, and Jennie Kellerman Garbarek, sales director for mass market North America at Tessa. Erin was previously the longtime floral director of H-E-B, where she was recognized by IFPA in 2023 as Floral Marketer of the Year, and Jennie is a veteran of SpartanNash, Mariano’s and Roundy’s. In this conversation, they discuss the complexity of the floral department and the reasons why floral leadership should always aim to be working a year in advance. They talk about transitioning in and out of holidays; leaning on suppliers to keep up with the consumer trends; how the global nature of the business plays into planning; the rise of microholidays; the growing popular culture relevance of floral; the increasing presence of private brand in floral; the undervalued practice of getting out in stores and talking to customers and department managers; the still largely untapped opportunity of e-commerce for floral; and much more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guest for this week's episode Clark Roper, a senior team leader at Chick-fil-A Supply, which is a subsidiary of Chick-fil-A. Clark has been with Chick-fil-A since 2022, but before that, he spent seven years as a produce buyer for Piggly Wiggly. Along with reflections on logistics, category management and more from his retail days, Clark shares his perspective on how Chick-fil-A elicits such remarkable performance primarily from young, part-time employees. He also discusses tools, like the Enneagram and Working Genius, that help identify strengths, weaknesses and tendencies of team members and explains the impact those have made in allowing him to support his team better. If you lead people, this is a conversation you shouldn't miss. Enjoy!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome back to the podcast Anne-Marie Roerink, the principal of 210 Analytics. Anne-Marie is well known to many in the produce world for her insightful reports and presentations in collaboration with Circana and industry associations like the International Fresh Produce Association and the Southeast Produce Council. In this episode, Anne-Marie and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discuss topics stemming from the SEPC's What's New report, which debuted at Southern Innovations. Their conversation covers the continuing growth fruit but downturn for vegetables; the concentration of new units and dollars coming from millennials; the sentiment of that generation toward fruits versus vegetables; how millennials and their children are interacting with produce and to what extent pickiness is influencing purchases; how fresh produce is seeing more competition from smoothies, powders, supplements and bars; how suppliers and retailers can come alongside parents and make vegetables fun for their kids; the emerging trend of "fiber maxing" as an opportunity for produce; what fresh produce can learn from its CPG counterparts on selling the benefits of certain nutrients; what implications the increasing spending power of millennials has for order quantities, delivery cadences, stocking best practices, and more; how kids today respond to marinades, sauces and seasonings and the potential of those "extras" to elevate how consumers experience vegetables; and much more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guests for this episode Karli Nelson, supermarket sales manager of Chrysal USA, and Jennie Garbarek, sales director of mass market North America for Tessacorp. In this episode, Karli — also known as the author of the Supermarket Floral Ad Roundup — and Jennie, alongside The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle, dive into floral ad trends, how different retailers see the role of floral in the ad, marketing floral beyond the ad, and more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guest for this episode Tim Deubner, a produce and floral manager for Town & Country Supermarket. He’s been in produce for more than a decade now and is dedicated to making his career in the industry and continuing to advance through the ranks. He’s probably one of the best out there at using LinkedIn to share his success stories, explain his thought process in his work, and be candid about his ambition to keep growing in this industry. In this conversation, he visits with The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle about how he practices thinking like a produce director; how he found and engages with mentors throughout the industry; how he has broadened his skillset since moving from a corporate store to an independent store; how he built a cut-fruit program for his store; how he engages customers both in the store and online; why and how he shares about his work via LinkedIn; how he approaches opportunity buys; which metrics he watches most closely; how he's grown in the three years since he last appeared on the podcast; and more! Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did, and thanks for listening!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guest on this week's episode Tony Mirack, director of produce, floral and salad bar at McCaffrey's Food Markets. In this conversation with The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle, Tony discusses his excitement about produce now having the "Wow!" factor thanks to varietal innovation in grapes, stone fruit, kiwi, berries, melons and more; the tricky calculus, given all the new varieties these days, of category management and SKU rationalization; how he measures success (spoiler alert — it goes beyond sales and profit); the information from growers that is most valuable to him; the philosophy that guides how he builds the ad; why he believes growers and shippers should visit their retailers and understand their customers; the power of educating your employees so they can educate your customers; how he allocates his time between strategy and planning and being in the stores working with the store-level teams; and much more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did, and thanks for listening!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guest this week Marc Goldman, produce director at Morton Williams Supermarkets, a 17-store chain that has served New York City since 1952 and was just acquired by Wakefern. Marc has been with Morton Williams the better part of 30 years, and in this conversation he talks about his career; changes he’s observing in the competitive landscape; what he's looking forward to about the acquisition; how he and his produce managers evaluate and evolve the assortment; what he looks for during store visits; the hardest part of the job for a produce manager today; his early experiences learning to lead a team; and more. Thanks for listening! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guest on this episode Rick Stein, vice president of fresh foods for the Food Industry Association, also known as FMI. Before Rick joined FMI in 2014, he spent more than 20 years at Safeway in various leadership roles across marketing, merchandising and operations, and he has overseen all sorts of large-scale special projects in that capacity. In this conversation, Rick and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discuss why produce saw greater unit sales growth in 2024 than any other perimeter department except deli foodservice; what percentage of retailers are using produce programs as differentiators and how satisfied they are with those programs’ performance; the mindset shift and supply chain improvements that have bolstered the availability of local produce in grocery retail; the role that retail media networks play for grocers currently and how that may evolve — and how fresh fits in; preserving the shopper experience as retail media grows; the growing importance of digital even as the vast majority of purchases remain in-store; the need to merchandise with meals in mind to better meet the needs of shoppers; and other topics including sales per labor hour, electronic shelf labels, stabilization of labor and supply chain challenges, and more. Hope you enjoy the conversation, and thanks for listening!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to bring you three guests in this week's episode: our recurring floral series star, Jennie Garbarek, sales director of mass market, North America, for Tessacorp, and a veteran of Roundy’s, Mariano’s and SpartanNash; Jake Rupert, director of sales and marketing at North Country Growers and a veteran of Roundy’s and Kroger; and Justin Heffernan, the vice president of sales for Fyffes North America and a veteran of Roundy’s and Jewel-Osco. They have each spent at least a decade on the buy side of the business — Jake almost two decades — and are now on the supply side. In this conversation with The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle, Justin, Jennie and Jake discuss the relationship between produce and floral; how those departments interact; how leaders tasked with managing across those departments can support both well; how building relationships plays a critical part in setting floral up for success during high-volume periods; leveraging competitive spirit to grow sales across the organization; incorporating floral into storewide events; the role of floral in the ad; the opportunity for greater collaboration between produce and floral; and much more. Enjoy! If you've been enjoying these episodes on floral, check out the archives for more. Thanks for listening!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have produce manager Ryan Vann, produce regional supervisor Jason Riggs, and vice president of produce operations Mike Roberts — all from Harps Food Stores — as our guests this week. The International Fresh Produce Association has recognized Ryan as one of the best in the business, naming him among 20 honorees this year for its Retail Produce Manager Awards Program. In this episode, Ryan discusses how he got into the business; what the transition was like from his previous industry, foodservice; his development as a leader; what he enjoys most about being in the store; his experience with the Southeast Produce Council's STEP-UPP program; how he evaluates potential in team members; how he breaks up his day and makes time to train his team members; and more. Jason and Mike discuss their internal process for selecting nominees for IFPA recognition; Ryan's contribution not just to his own store but to the broader company; Ryan's ability to identify and cultivate emerging leaders; Mike's commitment to educating produce managers not only on products but on leadership as well — and how his own leadership journey informed that passion; and other topics. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guests for this week's episode — the latest installment in our floral series — Nadia Pregoni, category manager for floral at Stop & Shop; Stuart Vanstaalduinen, sales director at Bayview Flowers; and Jennie Garbarek, sales director of mass market North America at Tessa. Nadia, Stu and Jennie visit with The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle about local and imports, including how they're navigating uncertainty around tariffs; the differences in planning time frame between produce and floral; how COVID changed the way floral buying is done; staying relevant and on-trend when growing and ordering happens so far in advance of shipments; the role of seasonality and limited-time offers; what retailers and suppliers can do to make stores true floral destinations; cultivating "plant parents"; the rise of value-added, also known as "giftables"; the role of hard goods in floral; trends they're seeing take shape currently; and much more. Enjoy!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome for this week's episode GiGi Busch, who at the time of recording was a produce and floral analyst for Busch's Fresh Food Market. GiGi has since been promoted into a broader role of content creator, working with the marketing department. Prior to her role as a category analyst, she spent several years as a floral merchandiser. In this conversation with The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle, GiGi talks about how she stays on top of what's trending; when to throw the rule book out the window; how she prepares to present ideas for new events; her favorite new "micro holidays" in floral; from which other retailers she draws inspiration; how to find and cultivate talent for the floral department; listening as the starting point for developing as a leader; the importance of learning from people across the industry; not making assumptions of what consumers will buy based on demographics; the grand reopening of the Novi location and what went into the design of the produce and floral department; how she, as a member of the ownership family, works to establish rapport with store-level personnel; what her pitch would be to younger people about the opportunities in grocery; and more. Enjoy!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guest for this week's episode Bob Veilleux, vice president of produce and floral operations at Vallarta Supermarkets. Bob’s previous stops have included Gelson’s, Gerrity’s, El Rio Grande Latin Markets, LaMontanita Co-op, and Sprouts. In this conversation, Bob and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discuss how Vallarta has shifted how it goes to market in produce; the role of name brands in their departments; the consumer research findings that informed their changes in specs; how relevant his previous experience with Latin markets has been in this role; which retailers Vallarta views as competition; how they invest in customer service as another differentiator; how they educate not only members of the produce team but also operations through field trips and trade shows; what they're prioritizing in the produce departments of the new stores they're opening; the importance of high-end fixtures in those stores; what impacts they are seeing from tariffs and how Bob approaches the uncertainty of that situation; how shoppers are looking at price versus quality in the current economic environment; how he got his start in the industry 38 years ago; how his time as a store manager and store director shaped his approach to leadership and why he considers those roles the most important in the grocery store today. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! For more discussions featuring executive perspective, check out this playlist dedicated to conversations with current and former vice presidents of produce, directors of produce, and other executive roles.  More Playlists Merchandising & Marketing  Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyone in grocery retail wants a richer understanding of what’s happening with the consumer — what they’re thinking about and talking about, the questions they’re trying to get answered, the changes they want to make. Retail dietitians, who have in-depth conversations with customers on a daily basis, have excellent perspective in this area. With that in mind — and thanks to a generous assist from the International Fresh Produce Association's Katie Calligaro, who helped convene this group in advance of IFPA's Consumer Connection Conference — we're delighted to feature in this week's episode a roundtable conversation with Laura Brown, director of nutrition for Kroger Health; Stacy Bates, director of wellness and nutrition strategy at H-E-B; and Allison Primo, health and wellness strategy manager at Schnuck Markets. Laura, Stacy and Allison discuss what's top of mind for consumers when it comes to nutrition and wellness; what they're hearing from shoppers on current events topics like food additives, seed oils, GLP-1s, SNAP restrictions and more; the role they play for their organizations in making sure health and wellness messaging breaks through even as their companies also need to communicate about value, convenience and other purchase drivers; how economic pressure is influencing the way consumers are shopping; the importance of shifting the mindset around what healthy eating means and making that relevant for all cultures; how they build relationships throughout their organizations to bring a nutrition lens to different teams and business activities; the increasing significance of trust with consumers as grocers produce more of their own products; and more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guests this week produce manager Dan Weis and store manager Michael Gillespie of The Fresh Market. In the grocery industry broadly, many companies try to be everything to every shopper, but The Fresh Market has a unique approach, focusing on premium meal solutions, special occasions, and holidays. Sampling plays a significant role, and the expectation (enabled by a collaborative culture) is that team members create a shopping experience of "impeccable hospitality." In this conversation, Michael talks about what attracted him to The Fresh Market, how he judges his own performance beyond financial metrics, the importance of asking team members about what ideas they have to drive the business, how they're seeing shoppers of different income levels respond to the current economic pressures, how the store recently tackled a challenge to showcase its full catering and special occasion capabilities for New Years, and more. Dan discusses collaboration across departments, the store's fresh-cut assortment, cultural aspects of the company he appreciates, and recent success stories from the produce department, including an innovative value-added idea he suggested and piloted that later was rolled out company-wide. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! For more episodes of The Produce Retail Podcast that feature produce managers, check out this curated playlist.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Marketing & Merchandising Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome for this week's episode Blaine Heilman, a produce industry veteran who’s entering a new career chapter as a consultant and sales director of Transcend Leadership Collective. Blaine’s previous roles have included president of sales at Sage Fruit, senior sourcing manager at Walmart, and director of domestic sales at Rainier Fruit Company. Our regular listeners know that leadership and people management have been recurring topics on this podcast, and in this conversation Blaine details her first experience of going from individual contributor to team leader, the growing pains she encountered, the tools she found useful in her learning and development, the structured approach she later found in Walmart's leadership program, and why and how she wants to support other industry members in their own leadership journeys. Blaine discusses navigating common challenges for those moving into leadership for the first time, from managing people older than you, to setting expectations for change, to wanting to be liked, to repairing relationships when needed, and more. For new leaders in particular, this conversation will be invaluable, and for older leaders, it will be an excellent refresher and opportunity to share with younger leaders in the success planning pipeline. Hope you enjoy the conversation!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this third installment of our 2025 floral series, we're delighted to have as our guests Bradley Gaines, business director of floral for United Supermarkets, Market Street and Albertsons Market, and Jennie Garbarek, sales director of mass market, North America, for floral supplier Tessacorp. Our regular listeners will recall that Jennie also has a retail background with stops including Roundy’s, Mariano’s and SpartanNash. In this conversation, Bradley, Jennie and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discuss best practices for staffing floral departments, from internship programs to hiring criteria to skills to teach. Bradley and Jennie also talk about the potential of AI for use in training new employees, how younger team members bring value to the team, the benefits of starting all new hires in the floral department, and the value of career training programs — which include floral and meat — that allow high school students to hit the ground running when they start full-time jobs with the company. Bradley also takes listeners behind the scenes on how posting on TikTok has increased awareness of and engagement with United's floral offerings; he discusses his initial reaction to the idea of embracing TikTok, what got him on board with the idea, the kind of content the team creates, who takes the videos, who posts them, collaboration with the marketing team, and more. Bradley and Jennie also cover the topic of e-commerce as a growing channel for floral. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guest for this episode Brian Numainville, a longtime grocery retail veteran, consumer research expert, and the principal of The Feedback Group. Before founding that organization, he worked for nearly two decades at the Nash Finch Company, which merged with Spartan Stores in 2013 to become SpartanNash. In this conversation, Brian covers The Feedback Group's latest research on the online grocery shopping experience, how it differs across channels (supermarkets, mass merchandisers, discounters, Amazon, etc.), and what the implications of those results are for produce. Brian and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discussed whether online purchasing of produce has plateaued, what factors could drive it up in the coming years, what barriers still remain to more produce being purchased through online channels, and what grocers could change to create a better online experience. Brian and Ashley also explored a fascinating rabbit trail — AI in grocery and what it could mean for online grocery and produce. If you're looking for a bird's-eye perspective on grocery, produce, online shopping and AI, this conversation with Brian is one you won't want to miss. Enjoy! For more episodes featuring marketing and merchandising perspective, check out this curated playlist for plenty of thought-provoking discussion.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guest for this week's episode Matt Quiring, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Nature Fresh Farms, for a deep dive on greenhouse commodities: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and strawberries. Matt discusses current trends and opportunities on the horizon for each category; what he's observing as far as growth of branded product sales versus private label; the shrinking middle ground between value offerings and premium offerings; the emerging opportunity of retail media; what he sees retailers that get the most out of category management insights doing differently than their peers; a practical tip on getting more shelf life out of cherry tomatoes on the vine in clamshells; merchandising opportunities for greenhouse commodities; the company's recent, vibrant rebranding of its product lineup; and much more. Enjoy! Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome back for the second installment of our floral series Jennie Garbarek, sales director of mass market, North America, for floral supplier Tessacorp, along with Michael Schrader, floral director of Schnuck Markets. Michael is a lifelong floral professional and highly respected in the industry. He was recognized as Floral Marketer of the Year in 2016, and he has also served as chair of then-PMA’s Floral Council. Jennie is also a veteran of the retail side of the business: her previous roles have included floral buyer for Roundy’s, category manager for floral at Mariano’s, and floral merchandising manager at SpartanNash. She is a member of the IFPA’s Floral Council and an advisory board member for Floriexpo. Michael and Jennie join the show to tackle a broad topic: building a floral program. They talk with The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle about what that entails at different levels, from a small independent just starting out in floral or broadening a modest program, to a standard supermarket looking to advance its offering, to a grocer that wants to make floral a signature department and be a market leader in that area. Hope you enjoy the conversation! For more discussions featuring executive perspective, check out this playlist dedicated to conversations with current and former vice presidents of produce, directors of produce, and other executive roles.  More Playlists Merchandising & Marketing  Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guest this week Ed Keefe, executive director of produce, floral and bakery merchandising and operations for Eickhoff ShopRite Supermarkets. Ed visited with The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle about the origins of his "Drop the Leash" philosophy; how he stays current on what the people in his stores need and how he can set them up for success; past remerchandising projects, department remodels, and the process of managing change; what he gained when he left the company (which he still loves) where he spent 30 years; the growth of fresh-cut produce and prepared foods; his path in the industry and how his construction background has been an asset; recent successes for Super Bowl and Valentine's Day; and more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! For more discussions featuring executive perspective, check out this playlist dedicated to conversations with current and former vice presidents of produce, directors of produce, and other executive roles.  More Playlists Merchandising & Marketing  Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back by popular demand, we have a special guest on this week's episode — Dave Dunkak, a longtime executive in mobile computing and AIDC, frequently recognized throughout his career for setting sales records, leading successful teams and developing people ... and he's also the father of The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle! Dave and Ashley talk all things negotiation, including understanding the difference between what each party needs from a deal versus what each party wants from a deal; discerning the trustworthiness of the other party; engaging in creative approaches; taking opportunities, when appropriate, to educate rather than convince; turning down the temperature when the other party gets heated; deciding when to walk away from a deal; preparing and researching both the company and the person you'll be negotiating with; viewing this whole area as an opportunity for collaboration rather than something that you win and the other party loses; and much more. Enjoy!  Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guest for this week's episode Jennifer Anazawa, director of trade and category development for Mission Produce. Jennifer joins us to discuss what's happening in the avocado and mango categories. She talks about the growth of bagged avocados; consumer insights that support offering ripe fruit; price sensitivity of avocados and the variables that affect it; the influence of promotions; what the retailers who best leverage category insights do differently than the rest; why flexibility is key to maximizing avocado sales; what retailers need to know about how consumers buy avocados in advance of the Super Bowl; the surprising amount of mangoes that are bought on impulse; the opportunity for ripe fruit to be a differentiator for retailers; the difference between what retailers consider ripe and what many shoppers consider ripe; and much more. Hope you enjoy the conversation! *Housekeeping Item: Because Mission Produce is a publicly traded company, we want to note that the views that Jenn expresses on this podcast are solely her own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Mission Produce. Jenn is speaking from her own perspective and on her own behalf for this conversation.* Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listeners looking to leverage floral as a growth area in 2025 are in for a treat: retail veteran Jennie Garbarek will join The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle on the show each month this year to discuss all facets of floral at retail. Jennie’s previous roles have included floral buyer at Roundy’s; category manager for floral at Mariano’s; and floral merchandising manager at SpartanNash. She is a member of the International Fresh Produce Association’s Floral Council and an advisory board member for Floriexpo. Jennie has had experience further up the floral supply chain as well, and she’s currently the sales director of mass market, North America, for floral supplier Tessacorp. In this episode, launching 30 days in advance of Valentine's Day 2025, Jennie takes listeners behind the scenes of preparation for the biggest day of the floral year. Topics include planning, which begins about a year in advance; ordering, which Jennie explains is best done early as possible and in close partnership with growers; logistics, which inevitably involves fighting for truck space and air freight; staffing, which Jennie notes is most effective when employees are assigned specific roles for the big day; assortment, which should be carefully tailored knowing that nothing specific to the holiday will move after the day of the event; merchandising, which should adjust throughout the day based on stock levels; the transition out of the holiday — Jennie advises a "clean break" — and more. You'll be hard-pressed to find a better deep dive on floral at retail than what Jennie will be providing this year. Tune in and let us know if there are topics you'd like us to cover. We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we do!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guest this week Amanda Oren, the vice president of industry strategy for grocery at RELEX. For any listeners who don’t know, RELEX is a platform that uses analytics and forecasting to help retailers optimize their supply chain and store operations so that what’s arriving at stores or being produced in stores matches demand. Amanda has more than 20 years of experience in grocery, including with companies like Good Food Holdings — which listeners will probably know for its association with banners Bristol Farms, Metropolitan Market and Lazy Acres — and also Foodland and Grocery Outlet. If you check out Amanda’s LinkedIn, you’ll see she’s done a lot of what I like to call “big picture” work — process improvement, change management, strategy. So today we’re going to get Amanda’s perspective on some big-picture storylines in grocery and what they mean for produce. We’re going to talk about competing with discounters, about the Kroger-Albertsons merger, about private label, and about inflation and price competition. Hope you enjoy the conversation!  Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guest this week Anne-Marie Roerink, the principal of 210 Analytics. Anne-Marie is well known to many folks in the produce world for her insightful reports and presentations in collaboration with Circana and associations like the International Fresh Produce Association and the Southeast Produce Council. Speaking of SEPC, Anne-Marie recently presented her What's New! report at Southern Innovations, and she and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle dive into the findings in today's conversation, covering topics including how inflation of recent years continues to influence consumer mindset and spending; why grocers are leaning into loyalty programs; the power of above-and-beyond merchandising for holidays in particular; the influence of trending TikTok items on category sales this year; the opportunity of presenting full meal solutions (with varying levels of prep work required) together in the store; the need for retailers to develop plans for when good things happen (like viral produce trends) just like they make plans for when bad things happen (outbreaks, emergencies, etc.); how consumers are "replacing" restaurant meals; and much more. Thanks so much for listening and hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!  For more insights from Anne-Marie, check out her previous appearances on the podcast. What produce can learn from the growth happening in deli Packaged produce, value-added, generational trends and more Consumer trends, produce merchandising and marketing See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guests for this week's episode Nicole Grant, director of customer development, and Rose Palacios, director of shopper marketing and merchandising — both from Driscoll's — for a deep dive on the berry category. Rose and Nicole discuss how broader industry trends are showing up in berries, including private label and supplier brands; value and premium options; conventional and organic product; smaller and larger pack sizes; in-store versus online sales; and more. Given the increasing number of SKUs in the category, Nicole and Rose advocate for increased space for berries and lay out the process of making that business case to retailers. They note that key metrics vary by retailer, and along with growing sales there may also be pressure to increase units (which can influence pack size strategy), market share and more. Rose and Nicole also observe that there's a significant opportunity for category education of the many newer people on sales floors post-COVID, and they give examples of how Driscoll's can come alongside retailers if that's an area they see as a way to get better. Nicole and Rose also share how they got into produce, the kinds of projects they handle in their respective roles, and how their teams collaborate. Hope you enjoy the conversation! For more episodes featuring marketing and merchandising perspective, check out this curated playlist for plenty of thought-provoking discussion.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With this week's episode, we're delighted to bring you three excellent guests, all from The Giant Co. To celebrate the recognition of produce manager Chris O'Brien by the International Fresh Produce Association, we're visiting with Chris, regional fresh sales manager Anthony Deni, and director of produce and floral Chris Keetch. We hear from Chris O’Brien about his reaction to winning the award; how he got started in produce; when he realized he could have a career in produce retail; how his leadership style has changed over the years; when he realized that in his current role he could have an impact well beyond his own store; and the training role he’s been serving in lately. Anthony discusses what makes Chris deserving of this recognition; areas in which he's seen Chris grow; and recent projects on which Chris' work has impressed him. Chris Keetch covers the process for selecting nominees; Chris O.'s role in building the bench of produce talent; a new training program that gets people on the sales floor quicker and aims to develop them as produce experts; the importance of nominating people for IFPA recognition; and why he describes Chris as a "merchant operator." Hope you enjoy the conversation! To hear more from Chris O'Brien, check out the IFPA's five-part webinar series featuring roundtable conversations with groups of this year's winners. The webinars are co-hosted by IFPA's Joe Watson and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle. The recordings are hosted on this page. https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/retail/retail-produce-manager-award-winners-webinar-series/ For more episodes of The Produce Retail Podcast focused on produce managers, check out this curated playlist.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Marketing & Merchandising Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guest for this week's episode Leigh Vaughn, director of produce and floral for Associated Food Stores. In this conversation, Leigh takes us behind the scenes of category reviews, from the data his team examines in preparation for supplier meetings; to his recommended do's and do-not's for hopeful vendors; to the roles that logistics, cost of goods and innovation play in the evaluation of suppliers; to the makeup of the group that suppliers meet and need to connect with; to how Leigh's team uses the IFPA Global Show to find new items and connect with new vendors; and much more. Enjoy! For more from Leigh, check out this earlier episode. For more episodes featuring executive perspective, check out this curated playlist dedicated to conversations with current and former vice presidents of produce, directors of produce, and other executive roles.  More Playlists Merchandising & Marketing  Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guests this episode Daniel Spivey, national director of fruit for Sprouts Farmers Market, and Reyna Graves, national director of veg and floral. Daniel and Reyna discuss topics including seasonal fruit destinations that drove record sales this summer; switching to more segregated merchandising of organic; riding the wave of the cucumber sandwich trend that started with a TikTok video; how they view private label when it comes to produce; the importance of supplier partnerships and innovation; the implications of more online sales for in-store processes; convenience and floral; what their roles entail and how they collaborate; how Sprouts finds and sources items that shoppers can't get anywhere else; their willingness to test new products at all levels of scale; the transition from fall to holiday season; and more. Enjoy! For more conversations featuring executive perspective, check out this playlist dedicated to conversations with current and former vice presidents of produce, directors of produce, and other executive roles.  More Playlists Merchandising & Marketing  Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guests on this episode Schnucks produce manager Aaron Carroll, produce sales merchandiser Meghan Hauck, and vice president of produce Mike Tipton. Aaron has been recognized this year by the International Fresh Produce Association as one of the best in the country. In this conversation, Aaron, Meghan and Mike visit with The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle about Aaron's remarkable creativity in merchandising, how he leads his team, his contributions beyond his own store, how he continues to learn and develop, the attributes that make him an excellent manager, and more. They also discuss career pathing and how the company works to build the bench of produce leadership, along with some leadership best practices they've learned over the years. Hope you enjoy the conversation! To hear more from Aaron, check out the IFPA's five-part webinar series featuring roundtable conversations with groups of this year's winners. The webinars are co-hosted by IFPA's Joe Watson and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle. If you can't catch a webinar live, the recordings are hosted on this page. https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/retail/retail-produce-manager-award-winners-webinar-series/ For more episodes of The Produce Retail Podcast focused on produce managers, check out this curated playlist.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Marketing & Merchandising Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re delighted to have as our guests for this episode Tops Markets produce manager Brad Franklin and produce and floral field specialist Cole Bickal. Brad has been recognized this year as one of the honorees of the International Fresh Produce Association’s Retail Produce Manager Awards Program. In this conversation, Brad discusses his start in the industry, what he finds most engaging about his work, the growth he’s made in floral, the balance of increasing sales and decreasing shrink, and more. Cole talks about the attributes that make Brad a significant asset for the company, including his role as a district trainer and his endless curiosity about ways to improve his department. If you’re headed to the IFPA’s Global Show, look for Brad at the Retail Awards Reception on Friday, Oct. 18! To hear more from Brad, check out the IFPA's five-part webinar series featuring roundtable conversations with groups of this year's winners. The webinars are co-hosted by IFPA's Joe Watson and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle. If you can't catch a webinar live, the recordings are hosted on this page. https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/retail/retail-produce-manager-award-winners-webinar-series/ For more episodes of The Produce Retail Podcast focused on produce managers, check out this curated playlist.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Marketing & Merchandising Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guests for this week's episode produce manager Bishop Tart, supervisor Josh Smith and vice president of sales and marketing Price Mabry to talk about Bishop's recognition by the International Fresh Produce Association as part of the Retail Produce Manager Awards Program Class of 2024. Bishop talks about his start in the business (working with his dad, a produce manager himself for 40-plus years); where he focuses his time and what he delegates to his team; planning and executing show-stopping seasonal displays; his philosophy on cross-training rather than having team members specialize; the growth of fresh cut; and more. Josh and Price explain what set Bishop apart for the nomination this year and detail how Corner Market has made IFPA recognition a point of pride and competition between stores — and they provide an update on how Corner Market's previous two winners have advanced in their careers since receiving their awards. To hear more from Bishop, check out the IFPA's five-part webinar series featuring roundtable conversations with groups of this year's winners. The webinars are co-hosted by IFPA's Joe Watson and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle. If you can't catch a webinar live, the recordings are hosted on this page. https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/retail/retail-produce-manager-award-winners-webinar-series/ For more episodes focused on produce managers, check out this curated playlist.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Marketing & Merchandising Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome back to The Produce Retail Podcast longtime executive Scott Schuette. Over the last 35-plus years Scott has served in leadership roles with Fresh Thyme, Sprouts and Bashas. He’s been recognized as Produce Retailer of the Year and Specialty Food Retailer of the Year. He’s also been so kind to be a regular on this podcast and share his perspective on all kinds of executive topics, from managing across divisions to developing the annual budget to writing to the ad — and many, many more. On this week's episode, Scott and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle tackle a topic that also featured prominently in the first-ever State of the Produce Manager report — the topic of how much leeway produce managers have to make decisions for their department. Scott gives examples of successful retailers all along the spectrum, from ones that tightly control presentation from a corporate level to ones that give produce managers significant discretion. He also discusses his views on which decisions should be made at the corporate level and which should be made at the store level. Scott also talks about store segmentation as a way to keep assortment and merchandising relatively consistent while still accounting for differences in customer bases and store layouts. Scott also notes the role of operational leadership and effective communication about standards. He discusses how produce managers can earn more leeway to make decisions and the importance of letting them experiment and learn from their successes and failures. Scott also brings up the leeway produce managers have in how they develop their team members and the opportunity they have to adjust their style as needed and personalize their approach to the personalities of folks in their department. For more conversations featuring executive perspective, check out this playlist dedicated to conversations with current and former vice presidents of produce, directors of produce, and other executive roles.  More Playlists Merchandising & Marketing  Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guest on this week's episode of the podcast Anne-Marie Roerink, the principal of 210 Analytics. Anne-Marie is well known in produce and across the broader grocery landscape for her insightful reports and presentations on what's happening in different parts of the store and what's happening in the world of the consumer — how and why they say they're shopping the way they are. In this conversation, Anne-Marie shares the trends she's seeing in deli and prepared foods and what produce can learn from the growth happening in that department, including the opportunity retailers have to capture what would be restaurant trips; the willingness of shoppers to make a separate trip to a different retailer for a specific foodservice offering; how retailers can build the basket during those replacing-a-restaurant-meal occasions; the different ways retailers are delivering convenience through the deli and how departments like produce and meat need to be proactive to collaborate so they don't get skipped when convenience is the priority; why grab-and-go meals like pizza often don't include mushrooms and how creative retailers are making pizzas customizable — and including more produce; how operational realities (and sometimes department silos) present challenges for some of the most aspirational cross-merchandising opportunities; and much more. Enjoy! For more episodes featuring marketing and merchandising perspective, check out this curated playlist for plenty of thought-provoking discussion.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guest on this episode of the podcast Brendan Haslam, director of strategy and category management for Bolthouse Fresh Foods, which is best known for carrots. Brendan takes us behind the scenes of his work digging into sales data to identify opportunities for the retailers his company serves. He discusses the importance of earning the trust of customers by making recommendations that take into account their whole category, not just what they do with Bolthouse. He talks about assessing assortment, pricing and promotion by comparing the sales results of a given retailer with others in their market and beyond. He provides a window into the cadence and process of category management conversations. Brendan also covers his background in the profession and in produce, the characteristics that he has seen dovetail with success in category management, recommendations for people who want to explore careers in this area, and much more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome three guests for this week's episode: produce manager Alicia Lewis, produce merchandiser Mike Harrington, and vice president of produce operations Mike Roberts, all of Harps Food Stores. Alicia has been recognized by the International Fresh Produce Association this year as one of the best in the business as an honoree of the Retail Produce Manager Awards program, and so we talk with Alicia about when she knew produce could be a career for her; how she developed her understanding of the numbers side of the role; how she approaches training her team; how she balances running the department at her store and helping with training and remerchandising at other stores as well; and much more. Mike and Mike discuss what led to Alicia's nomination for this award; the attributes that make her stellar in her role; the importance of utilizing top-notch produce managers beyond their stores to make the whole company better; setting produce managers up with opportunities to continue to grow in their roles; and more. Hope you enjoy the conversation! For more episodes focused on produce managers, check out this curated playlist.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Marketing & Merchandising Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guest for this week's episode Leigh Vaughn, director of produce and floral for Associated Food Stores. Leigh has been with AFS for 16 years now and was with Lee’s Marketplace for 13 years before that. In this week's conversation, he and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discuss how Leigh got started on the retail side of the business, including how he would assess employees' potential for the produce department; how he made the transition to wholesale and works with produce supervisors and managers for the stores AFS serves; the resources that AFS provides those stores, including a traveling regional produce seminar and a learning management system, and how those have been/are being developed; the opportunities AFS is creating for produce department employees to earn certificates and explore the career paths available to them; how AFS sets up for success its remodels and new store openings; the incorporation of more innovation refrigeration, including the ROI on that equipment; the increase in cross-merchandising between departments and the breaking down of silos that's needed for more of that meal solutions presentation to occur; the growth of fresh-cut produce, the labor required for it, and the decision-making process on what to do in-house and what to do at a commissary; and more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did! For more episodes featuring executive perspective, check out this curated playlist dedicated to conversations with current and former vice presidents of produce, directors of produce, and other executive roles.  More Playlists Merchandising & Marketing  Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guest this week longtime produce executive Dorn Wenninger. His most recent role was senior vice president of produce for UNFI, and before that he was vice president of produce and floral for Walmart. Before he moved to the buy side of the business, he worked for renowned suppliers Driscoll's and Chiquita. He was also a member of the inaugural board of directors for the International Fresh Produce Association. Over his time in the industry, Dorn has developed a keen interest in indoor agriculture, and he's also passionate about digging into industry data and finding opportunities for action – so those will be the two major buckets for today's conversation. Dorn and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discuss why Dorn has been a student of indoor ag for 14 years now; how the vertical and glass segments are different and the opportunities he sees for them; the factors that will influence investment in CEA in the near term; the growth that greenhouse SKUs have seen within the packaged salad category, which has otherwise been down; the significant market share of CEA in packaged salads in certain regions; the few non-CEA SKUs within packaged salads that are growing; opportunities that the data shows in specialty and organic; how to use your center-store assortment to identify potential gaps in your produce assortment; the importance of combining data deep dives with walking stores and having conversations with associates; how up-and-coming produce leaders can become more comfortable with data and learn how to leverage it better; why he's been exploring floral as a key area for growth; and much more. For more episodes featuring executive perspective, check out this curated playlist dedicated to conversations with current and former vice presidents of produce, directors of produce, and other executive roles.  More Playlists Merchandising & Marketing  Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guest on this week's episode Lou Rotell, director of produce and floral for El Rio Grande Latin Market. The company recently set a new Guinness World Record for the largest fruit display, which featured avocados for Cinco de Mayo. Lou and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discuss the brainstorm that got the ball rolling on the plan for a record-breaking display; the testing of different approaches for the architecture and placement of the display; the coordination between departments across the store and between produce, marketing, logistics and other internal divisions to make the event a holistic success; the collaboration with suppliers on specifications, volume and pricing; the role of center-store suppliers and their sponsorship of the event; the discussion with Guinness on requirements to set the record; the plan to distribute the avocados to other stores after the record was set to avoid any waste; the definition of success for a special event like this one; and the way the project boosted morale among associates in the store and provided an opportunity for greater collaboration between divisions. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did! For more episodes featuring marketing and merchandising perspective, check out this curated playlist for plenty of thought-provoking discussion.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to bring in as our guests today Jose Cartamil and Tom Foss, two veteran produce merchandisers who now work for Carlson AirFlo Merchandising Systems. Tom and Jose bring a unique perspective on the produce retail landscape. They each worked for many years as produce managers and merchandisers – Tom with Rainbow Foods and Roundy’s, Jose with Publix, Target and Supervalu – and in their current roles they work with retailers across the country, so they’ve got deep expertise in the nitty gritty of the department and also visibility into many different banners and formats. They discuss how they began their careers in produce; what they're observing in stores now as far as trends in assortment, merchandising and marketing; how they were trained when they first started in the produce department and how they trained others when they became more senior; what they believe the opportunities are for produce retail as a whole; and much more. Enjoy! For more episodes featuring marketing and merchandising perspective, check out this curated playlist for plenty of thought-provoking discussion.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to bring out of the archives today a conversation from a couple years back with Alex Jackson, vice president of procurement and sales for Frieda's Branded Produce, about the origin of Love Your Produce Manager Day, a holiday that Frieda's created back in 2012. Before that discussion, The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle also shares a few words about her appreciation for the many talented, dedicated, zealous produce managers she's observed and visited with over the years. We hope you enjoy the conversation, and we wish you a belated Happy Love Your Produce Manager Day! For episodes featuring produce manager perspective, check out this curated playlist for plenty of thought-provoking discussion.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Marketing & Merchandising Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve got a special treat for you today – a roundtable discussion with three retail dietitians who, along with being nutrition experts, have excellent insight into the consumer and are incredibly plugged into marketing at their companies. Our panelists are Harmons registered dietitian nutritionist Melanie Taylor, MS, RDN, CD; Raley’s nutrition strategist and corporate dietitian Yvette Waters, MS, RDN, CISSN, RYT; and Kroger director of nutrition Laura Brown, MS, RDN, LDN. Moderated by The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle, this group discusses topics including how consumer purchasing behavior has been influenced by lingering inflation; how RDs are using — or considering using — AI in their work; how GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are showing up in their conversations with consumers and the challenges their use can pose to increasing produce consumption; which topics they see resonating with shoppers and the platforms they're using to connect with them; how they work to get their vision executed in stores; what dietitians can do for consumers that many people may not realize; what they're most looking forward to at the International Fresh Produce Association's upcoming Consumer Connection event, and much more. Last but not least, speaking of IFPA — a big shout-out to director of marketing and communications Katie Calligaro for bringing this group of RDs together for today's conversation. Melanie, Yvette and Laura are part of IFPA's retail dietitian network, a unique and important way IFPA engages the industry. Hope you enjoy the conversation! For more episodes featuring marketing and merchandising perspective, check out this curated playlist for plenty of thought-provoking discussion.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello and welcome to The Produce Retail Podcast! Our esteemed guest for this week's episode is Anne-Marie Roerink, the principal of 210 Analytics. Anne-Marie is well known to many folks in the produce world for her insightful reports and presentations in collaboration with Circana and associations like the International Fresh Produce Association and the Southeast Produce Council. Speaking of SEPC, Southern Exposure just happened, one of the first major shows of the year, and Anne-Marie presented FMI's Power of Produce report, the go-to source each year on current consumer and sales trends in the industry. In today's conversation, Anne-Marie and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discuss topics including how inflation influenced consumption in 2023 and continues to do so in 2024; how sales of fixed-weight produce are growing despite consumer concern about plastic; innovation in produce, from product attributes to merchandising; how different generations are finding recipes and meal planning; why traditional grocery is losing share of spend to channels like discount, mass merchandisers and club and how that could change in the future; and much more. Enjoy! For more episodes featuring marketing and merchandising perspective, check out this curated playlist for plenty of thought-provoking discussion.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Leadership & Training Produce Manager Perspective Podcast Background This podcast is designed to cover all things produce retail: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and beyond. Scroll through our episodes list to find conversations with vice presidents and directors of produce, merchandisers, produce managers, retail dietitians and more. Get Involved The Produce Retail Podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout on LinkedIn. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to welcome as our guest today Dan Weis, a longtime produce retail veteran who's been working in grocery stores for most of his life — including as a young kid tagging along with his dad on Saturdays! Dan has spent the majority of his career, more than 30 years, at King Kullen, a family grocer serving Long Island, New York. Dan was a produce manager there for 17 years and then a produce and floral supervisor there for 15 years. More recently, after he and his wife moved to Florida to be closer to their daughters, Dan also worked for Publix. The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle wanted to visit with Dan because he’s someone who really loves the business and is zealous about creating an excellent experience for the customer. In this episode, Ashley and Dan discuss leadership, department resets, the importance of communication and education, merchandising philosophy, career transitions, a few of Dan's highlights over the years, and his recent attendance at the Southeast Produce Council's Southern Exposure. Enjoy! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guest on this week's episode Claudia St. John, the founder and CEO of consulting, recruiting and training firm The Workplace Advisors. As regular listeners might recall, The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle recently published the first-ever State of the Produce Manager report, and career pathing was one of the topics covered. To learn more about what career pathing entails, how different companies are approaching it, and the value it brings an organization, Ashley reached out to Claudia, whom she saw present back in 2021 at the Southeast Produce Council's Southern Innovations event. In this episode, Claudia also discusses the what the status of the labor market means for how companies need to approach their workforces; what employees today want; what career pathing looks like in practice; why training and other investment in employees in supervisory roles is so critical; the importance of developing "soft" skills; the ROI equation for investment in people; the correlation between happy employees and happy customers; the factors that play into job satisfaction for Gen Z; voluntary sabbatical programs; and more. Enjoy!  For inquiries about the full State of the Produce Manager report, please reach out to Ashley Nickle at [email protected] or on LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.