Author: Ron Pelger

Pressure and deadlines push people into “hurry-up syndrome,” and that’s when mistakes happen. Operating a produce business on thin margins while facing numerous challenges is difficult enough. Making repeated mistakes can cause real damage. Some mistakes are harmless, while others are costly—and the costly ones can sink a company.

 

Avoid these damaging produce business mistakes:

 

Cutting the marketing budget: Spend little, get little. Without steady marketing, your visibility and sales will fade.

 

Counting on customer loyalty: No customer is locked in with you. A better deal or better service elsewhere can erase decades of business instantly.

 

Weak business planning: No targets, no direction, no creativity. A poor plan guarantees poor results.

 

Sloppy analytics: Bad reporting leads to bad decisions. Data is your guide, but the reporting must be accurate.

 

Ignoring inventory: Excess produce ties up cash and increases shrink because of the product’s short shelf life. Inventory should turn over quickly, not sit around.

 

Relying on word of mouth: Word of mouth spreads negative experiences faster than positive ones. It’s not a growth strategy.

 

Ad promotion overload: Moving truckloads of produce at low margins to beat competitors’ advertised prices is a fast way to lose money.

 

Letting costs run wild: Spending outside the plan eats into profits. If it wasn’t budgeted, it shouldn’t be happening.

 

Copying competitors: Following others makes you ordinary. Stick to your own plan.

 

Going with gut feelings: Shooting from the hip misses the target. Facts beat feelings every time.

 

Overestimating sales and underestimating costs: Hope isn’t a strategy. Be honest with your numbers.

 

Overspending to chase new customers: Your current customers are your most valuable asset. Get them to buy more.

 

Using quick-fix sales tactics: Giveaways and deep discounts create temporary bumps, not lasting solutions.

 

The produce business is tough, unforgiving and full of obstacles. Companies must stay disciplined, follow their own plans and operate at their highest level every day. As a former professional golfer once said, “The little white ball is always staring at you, daring you to make a mistake.” In produce, the stakes are even higher.

Produce people are early risers. We’re in the markets before dawn, first in the stores, and we live and breathe this business.

 

Right now, the summer selling door isn’t just open—it’s wide open. Summer delivers berries, stone fruit, cherries, melons, grapes and sweet corn. Eating habits shift, and shoppers pour more of their food dollars into fresh items. The color, excitement and volume of the produce department peak during these months.

 

Growers, shippers and buyers are reporting strong supplies of stone fruit, melons, grapes, corn and other warm-weather favorites. The season has flipped. Winter is out, summer is in, and every produce employee should be on stage and ready to perform. When the doors open, it should feel like lights, camera, action—with displays built to sell.

 

Summer fruit deserves aggressive, oversized, expanded displays. But why do some retailers cut back other categories, assuming they won’t move? Old thinking still pushes apples, oranges, grapefruit, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, cabbage and similar items into the background because they are considered “winter items.” That mindset is outdated. Consumer behavior has changed.

 

Some retailers still operate as though people stop cooking when summer arrives. That may have been true generations ago, but today we have air conditioning, microwaves, smart appliances and outdoor grills. Cooking has never been easier or offered more options, and the popularity of cooking shows and food-focused social media has only added to consumers’ interest in preparing meals at home.

 

The old habit of hiding apples and citrus on a back table all summer is obsolete. The modern approach is to display them like they’re meant to sell—because customers will buy what they see prominently presented. Put up a 15-case auxiliary display of Gala apples instead of placing half a case in a wicker basket, and watch what happens. Bigger exposure creates incremental sales.

 

Growing produce sales today requires thinking bigger. When exciting new seasonal items arrive, give them the space and attention they deserve—but don’t abandon the proven sellers that can keep ringing the register all summer long.

 

What do you think? Write to me at ronprocon@gmail.com.

Organic produce barely existed at retail in the mid-1980s. If a shopper asked for organic apples or lettuce, the produce manager’s answer was almost always “No.” Stores didn’t carry it, ads didn’t promote it, and departments had no dedicated organic sections.

 

Everything changed in February 1989 with the Alar scare. Overnight, consumer concern about food safety and environmental health exploded. Demand for pesticide-free produce surged, and retailers had to react fast. We scrambled to find suppliers even though early organic offerings were thin in both variety and volume. Media coverage amplified the movement, and organic agriculture stepped in to meet the new expectations.

 

Fast-forward to today: organic produce is mainstream. Every supermarket carries it, and some departments stock 100 or more items. But simply having organics isn’t enough. The next step is elevating the category from “we have it too” to a fully merchandised, front-and-center destination.

 

A handful of organic items buried at the bottom of the weekly ad won’t move the needle. Neither will a cramped, hard-to-find organic section tucked into a corner. If shoppers can’t easily see it, they won’t buy it. A neglected organic display becomes the produce equivalent of that forgotten coffee brand stuck on the bottom shelf behind a pole.

 

To truly reach customers, organic produce must be merchandised with intention. Four fundamentals drive success:

 

Sections — Organic produce needs two distinct areas: • A refrigerated wall case for sensitive vegetables. • A nearby table fixture for sturdier items like apples, citrus, onions, and tomatoes.

 

Exposure — The presentation must be conspicuous. Attractive, well-built displays command attention and signal that organics are a priority, not an afterthought.

 

Choices — Today’s supply supports broader variety. A robust mix of items increases shopper interest and sales.

 

Impact — Shoppers make purchases 18% of the time while observing displays. End caps are powerful impulse zones. Featuring two or three organic items on an end cap puts them in the spotlight and drives incremental sales.

 

Retailers have made progress with advertising and dedicated sections, but the real opportunity now is additional exposure. Secondary displays influence customers by 24%. Strategic end-cap placement of select organic items will strengthen the category and grow sales.

 

Organic shoppers continue to increase rapidly. Staying ahead of the competition means making organics impossible to miss. Put them front and center and let the merchandising do the work.

 

What do you think? Write to me at ronprocon@gmail.com