The Produce Retail Podcast

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 ashley@nicklegrowthstrategies.com or on LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've got an extra-special guest on this week's episode of The Produce Retail Podcast — longtime sales director and manager Dave Dunkak, who also happens to be the dad of host Ashley Nickle! Dave is in a different industry, but he has extensive experience navigating some of the key challenges that many in produce retail face: Along with developing people, Dave has for many years had P&L responsibility, so he’s very well-versed in balancing the long-term goals of building a team and a business with the short-term goals of beating last year’s sales numbers. As regular listeners will know by now, Ashley recently surveyed 200 produce managers for the new State of the Produce Manager report, and one of the areas of interest among that group was more training in people management and leadership. With those topics in mind, in this episode Ashley and Dave discuss attributes of strong managers; the critical discipline of holding team members accountable; how to maximize your time developing the team and prioritize with whom you spend that time; how to lead career path discussions with your team members; balancing work time and family time; empowering team members and how important that is to retention; making the difficult decision to transition people off the team when necessary; and value of a good old-fashioned phone call. Enjoy! For inquiries about the full State of the Produce Manager report, please reach out to Ashley Nickle at ashley@nicklegrowthstrategies.com or on LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have returning to the podcast as our guest today Josh Padilla, a veteran produce director who most recently led the produce team at Marketplace Bermuda. Josh has also led produce at Citarella in New York and at Gerrity’s in Pennsylvania. His career has also included Krasdale Foods, Whole Foods Market, and Pathmark Supermarkets. In today's episode, Josh provides his perspective on some of the topics that surfaced from the first-ever State of the Produce Manager report: forced distributions and how produce leadership can ease the aggravation that distributions can cause for produce managers; how different organizations structure reporting between merchandising and operations; how merchandising and operations should collaborate and why they sometimes lock horns instead; how labor for produce fits into the bigger picture of labor for the overall store and metrics that leadership gets judged on; the need for more leadership/people management training for produce managers; the opportunity to get creative with incentives to encourage efficiency and to increase retention; and much more. Enjoy!  For inquiries about the full State of the Produce Manager report, please reach out to Ashley Nickle at ashley@nicklegrowthstrategies.com or on LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you ever get frustrated because it seems like certain team members just don't care about the work as much as you do? If you're trying to move people from the "just a job" mentality to a place of pride and ownership, give this conversation a listen. Our guest is Wendy McManus, leadership coach and founder of Connect 2 Potential. Wendy has a long history in the produce industry, including serving for more than a decade at the National Mango Board before she started her own business six years ago. The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle wanted to bring Wendy in for a conversation on leadership, and here’s the reason: When Ashley surveyed more than 200 produce managers a few months back for the new State of the Produce Manager report, she asked about areas in which they’d like more training or education. Leadership, or people management, was a big one. A critical part of leadership is helping the people on your team understand that their role is essential and how they approach it matters, so Wendy discusses in this episode the power of knowing your purpose in your work. It’s a unique angle on the topic of leadership and one that's broadly applicable. Enjoy! For inquiries about the full State of the Produce Manager report, please reach out to Ashley Nickle at ashley@nicklegrowthstrategies.com or on LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you're a regular listener, you might recall we surveyed more than 200 produce managers a while back and recently released the first-ever State of the Produce Manager report based on the findings of that survey. One of our takeaways was on the importance of career pathing for produce managers. In today's episode, we bring in an expert on this topic: consultant, author and keynote speaker Dave Mitchell, to whom The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle first reached out several years ago after attending one of his keynotes. Dave was so kind to come on the show and apply some of his wisdom to the world of produce retail. This is a conversation you don't want to miss. Enjoy! For inquiries about the full State of the Produce Manager report, please reach out to Ashley Nickle at ashley@nicklegrowthstrategies.com or on LinkedIn.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're delighted to have as our guest on this episode Scott Horner, owner of EMP, Everything Matters Produce. Scotty has a long history in produce retail, starting with about 20 years as a produce manager for Ahold, Shaw’s, Big Y, and Tri Town Foods. Since then he’s been a merchandiser, supervisor, specialist and broker for fresh foods, and he started his business in 2021. He also shares his knowledge on LinkedIn through merchandising photos and informational videos. The focus of one such video was labor — a topic that The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle just explored at length in the first-ever State of the Produce Manager report — and a discussion about that challenge is what starts today's conversation. Scott talks about how labor percentage has changed over the years; how the lack of hours devoted to training is creating a talent vacuum; how his mentors taught him the business side of produce; the value of training associates to be true sales professionals who know their products; the case for trusting your produce managers to make certain decisions; performance indicators to consider along with labor percentage; how to encourage associates to deliver great customer service; managing to ensure a positive team dynamic; and much more. Enjoy! For inquiries about the full State of the Produce Manager report, please reach out to Ashley Nickle at ashley@nicklegrowthstrategies.com or on LinkedIn. 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 talk a lot on this podcast — advocate, quite frankly — about the amazing returns that come from investing in training and education for frontline professionals, particular produce managers. In this week's episode, we bring back Kevin Climie, senior director of produce and floral at Fortinos, to discuss how the banner's 24 stores differentiate themselves with next-level floral departments — including how they invest in training and education for their floral managers. Fortinos is under the Loblaws umbrella but functions as an independent, so all Fortinos stores are franchised and have individual owners. Other topics Climie covers in this episode with The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle include the layout and location of Fortinos floral departments and the role they play for the banner; how the company began its collaboration with local higher-learning institutions to train and educate floral team members; the growth of floral for Fortinos in recent years; seasonal must-haves and trends in floral; willingness to pay among floral consumers and pricing structures that resonate; monitoring for new items and the role that supplier partnerships play; how product can be repurposed in floral just like it can in produce; preparation for Valentine's Day on the procurement side and the store operations side; and much more. Enjoy! Here's that 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 episode Donovan Jackson, manager and buyer for Seed to Table, an independent grocery store in Naples, Fla. Check out Donovan's LinkedIn for a glimpse at the top-notch merchandising that characterizes this unique store. In his conversation with The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle, Donovan covers topics including his career path; his philosophy on the role of merchandising in customer experience and sales; the organization's leadership and trust in his vision for the department; the team that allows him to bring that vision to life; training and teaching in the department; how quick turns mostly make shrink a non-issue; how Seed to Table is a go-to in the community for gatherings beyond grocery shopping; and much more. Enjoy! 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 have Mike Roberts, vice president of produce operations at Harps Food Stores, as our guest on this episode of The Produce Retail Podcast. Mike, a former produce manager himself and a longtime champion of professionals in that role, joins the show to discuss with The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle the importance of produce managers; how he works to support them at Harps; which issues are easy for him to solve for them and which are more difficult; how he stays in the loop on what those frustrations are; how the produce manager role has changed over the years; and his experience as a produce manager back at the start of his career. Also in this conversation, you'll hear Mike and Ashley reference the new State of the Produce Manager report, which Ashley designed and authored with input from industry-leading produce directors. Based on a survey of more than 200 produce managers, the report delves into questions including: How much leeway they have to make decisions for their department. Whether they believe they have the necessary resources to serve customers well. In which areas they want more education or training. How they feel about their work. What they know and want to know about the career path opportunities available to them. For inquiries about the full State of the Produce Manager report, please reach out to Ashley Nickle at ashley@nicklegrowthstrategies.com or on LinkedIn. 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.

This week we're bringing you one more episode to wrap up 2023 and set up 2024. Over the last few weeks, we've been looking back at some of the excellent conversations we've been delighted to host on this podcast. This episode, which features some of the highlights from our Leadership & Training playlist, includes snippets from discussions with Brian Dey, senior merchandiser and natural stores coordinator of Four Seasons Produce; Rick Stein, vice president of fresh foods at FMI The Food Industry Association; Tami Martin, human resources director at Black Gold Farms; Armand Lobato, longtime produce retail professional and columnist; and Scott Schuette, a veteran executive whose tenure has included stops at Fresh Thyme Market, Sprouts Farmers Market and Bashas'. Here's that playlist dedicated to conversations with produce managers and topics particularly relevant for this critical group.  More Playlists Executive Perspective Produce Manager Perspective 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.

As 2023 draws to a close, we're taking a few weeks to look back at some of the excellent conversations we've been delighted to host on this podcast. This episode, which features some of the highlights from our Produce Manager Perspective playlist, includes snippets from discussions with Food City’s Skylar Leonard along with produce supervisor Travis Jones and local grower Tony Slaughter; Bre Norris of The Giant Co. and her store manager Al Carcifi; Strack & Van Til’s Mitch Harris and produce director Andy Muller; and Hy-Vee's Greg Kimmel and vice president of produce and floral operations John Griesenbrock. If you check out the full Produce Manager Perspective playlist, you'll find we've also visited with professionals including Rubinette Produce Market's Josh Alsberg; Haggen's Laura Marquand and produce sales manager Brent Chambers; Tops Markets' Chris DeMarie and director of produce and floral Jeff Cady; Corner Market's Olin Williams and vice president of fresh Price Mabry; John Truncale of Brattleboro Food Coop and Brian Dey, senior merchandiser and natural stores coordinator of Four Seasons Produce; and Armand Lobato, longtime produce retail professional and columnist who gave excellent insight on a critical and universally relevant topic: managing when stores are understaffed. Here's that playlist dedicated to conversations with produce managers and topics particularly relevant for this critical group.  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.

As 2023 draws to a close, we're taking a few weeks to look back at some of the excellent conversations we've been delighted to host on this podcast. This episode, which features some of the highlights from our Merchandising & Marketing playlist, includes snippets from discussions with Jonna Parker, the fresh foods team lead at Circana; Diane Scalisi, director of omnichannel marketing for Driscoll’s, and Danelle Huber, senior marketing manager for CMI Orchards; Anne-Marie Roerink, principal of 210 Analytics; and Brian Numainville, principal of The Feedback Group. If you check out the full Merchandising & Marketing playlist, you'll find we've also covered these topics in our conversations with folks including Chris Blackwood, Harold Carroll and Stephen Daly, produce retail veterans with Military Produce Group; Roberto Bolivar, produce specialist for Dave's Markets; Luke Rose, merchandising supervisor with Proffer Produce; Brian Dey, senior merchandiser and natural stores coordinator for Four Seasons Produce; retail dietitians Joni Rampolla of The Giant Company and Kimberly Asman of Weis Markets; and Scott Schuette, a longtime produce retail executive whose previous stops include Sprouts, Fresh Thyme Market and Bashas' Here's that playlist dedicated to conversations that touch on merchandising and marketing, both with folks in retail and consumer and retail trends experts who bring a bird's-eye view of the industry.  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.

As 2023 draws to a close, we're taking the next few weeks to look back at some of the excellent conversations we've been delighted to host on this podcast. This episode, which features some of the highlights from our Executive Perspective playlist, includes snippets from discussions with Caitlin Tierney, then the senior director of produce for local and innovation with Sprouts Farmers Markets; Kevin Climie, senior director of produce and floral at Fortinos; Shawn Peery, national vice president of produce at Albertsons; Mike Tipton, vice president of produce and floral at Schnuck Markets; and Scott Schuette, a longtime produce retail executive whose previous stops include Sprouts, Fresh Thyme Market and Bashas'.  If you check out the full Executive Perspective playlist, you'll find additional conversations with Josh Padilla, then the director of produce for Marketplace Bermuda; James Breuhl, vice president of fresh for Rouses Markets; Jesse Himango, then the assistant director of produce for Fresh Thyme Market; and Mimmo Franzone, vice president of merchandising for Longo's.  Here's that 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 back to the podcast Jack Sjogren, sales director at Alco Designs, which specializes in fixtures. Jack recently joined Alco after nearly 20 years at Hillphoenix, where he was most recently the design center manager and provided expert perspective for retailers on lighting and refrigeration in various departments of the store, including produce. In this conversation, The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle visits with Jack about how fixtures have been optimized for easier handling and easier cleaning; the versatility available in recent designs; the practical considerations of different finishes for fixtures; the role fixtures play in resets; how retailers can revive the look of a store without doing a complete overhaul and replacing everything; 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 bring you a returning guest for this episode: Cody Masters, vice president of culinary and the executive chef for Everson Spice Company. His work includes tracking trends and helping both retailers and grower-shippers develop new flavor profiles for their fresh produce and other offerings. In today's conversation, Cody and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discuss which departments he looks to for flavor inspiration; how including compound butters or seasoning packets in meal kits and value-added produce packs can address key consumer needs; how the recent success of street corn kits demonstrates the opportunity; the logistics behind identifying and delivering the right seasoning blends for different applications for a retailer; the challenge of getting space for trial of new products; how retailers could adopt signature flavors on a seasonal basis for use in departments throughout the store; and much more. Hope you enjoy the conversation and thanks for listening! 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 have as our guest on this week's episode Mike Tipton, vice president of produce and floral at Schnuck Markets. Schnucks recently announced a pilot program called Fresh Produce Now, which allows customers using the grocer's app to receive notifications when favorite local produce items arrive at their store. Mike and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discuss Foodshed.io, the organization partnering with Schnucks on the pilot, and how the grocer "met" Foodshed.io several years ago and engaged the company for its logistics, compliance and procurement coordination with local growers. Mike also talks about the role of local for Schnucks, particularly local produce, including highlights of the Midwest local season. He also covers how the grocer will gauge the success of the Fresh Produce Now pilot, plans for next summer, and possible applications for the technology beyond calling out local. Ashley and Mike also discuss digital shelf tags and how that technology will evolve in the coming years. We hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we 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.