Merchandise Food is rooted in fresh fruit & vegetable retail operations. Our consulting team has extensive fresh produce planting, harvesting, wholesaling, direct farm marketing, procurement, corporate office & in-store operations experience to help you with compelling presentation and driving profits.
- Planning new fresh produce department concepts
- Resetting or remerchandising existing markets
- Auditing & advising at-risk & failing produce stores to pinpoint sales, shrink & freshness issues
Who We Serve
- Fresh Grocers / Supermarkets
- Natural Food Stores
- Convenience Retailers
- Gourmet Food Stores
- Health Food Stores
- Country & General Stores
- Farm Stores & Stands
- Public & Farmers' Markets
- Roadside Stands
- Metro City Markets
- Ethnic Grocers
- Grocery Co-ops
Retail Fresh Produce Department Assessments & Consultancy
Merchandise Food reviews new store plans or existing produce departments to pinpoint profit opportunities. We take a detailed look at your store from back dock, storage coolers, sales floor and related operational workstations.
- Store visits & in-depth department reviews
- Analysis of new store produce department front and back of house plans
- Fresh Produce Retail Operations Review
- Fresh Produce Merchandising Assessment
- Freshness & Shrink Observations
Missed Opportunities = Limited Profits. Gain advice to equip your team to reinvent stores or open new markets with better displays & less shrink.
Our engagement discovery process includes store assessments & key management discussions. We’ll look for obvious and not so obvious factors limiting freshness and profitability. A written report of key recommendations and action items can be implemented independently or with our coaching & assistance. We can help with:
- Fresh Produce Management
- Customer Service
- Department Operations (Huddles, Opening / Closing Procedures, Task delegation))
- Department Resets
- Product Mix Development
- Hands-on Merchandising Resets
- Inventory Management (Ordering levels, stocking, replenishment levels)
- Local Farm / Grower Programs
- Quality Assurance
- Supplier Reviews & Guidelines
- Fresh Item Labeling & Signage
- Clerk / Employee Training (Product Identification, Merchandising, etc.)
- In-store Signage & Marketing
- Shrink Reduction / Management
- Retail Best Practices (Receiving, Storage - FIFO, Trimming, Ripening)
- Fresh Visual Merchandising (Product placement, space allocations, cross-merchandising techniques)
- Retail & Pricing Strategy
- In-store Operations
- New Model Store Planning
- Case Sets / Space Allocation
- Fruit & Vegetable Specifications
- Instore Demo / Sampling Program Development
- Temperature Monitoring
- Value-Added / Fresh Cut Fruits & Vegetable Program Development
- Performance Metrics & Reporting (Sales per square foot, labor & shrink percentages)
Display Vessels, Decor, Furniture Fixture & Equipment (FF&E) Specification
Merchandise Food can help you select fitting fixtures & equipment for your fresh produce department from leading industry suppliers.
- Fixtures: Orchard / market-style / slant top bins, Euro-tables,
- Millwork: Custom wooden fixtures
- Refrigeration: Upright dairy & produce style open-air cases, mobile "spot" merchandising coolers, multi-deck berry refrigerators,
- Merchandising Accessories: Foam inserts, trays, baskets, vessels, containers, risers
- Shelf & Sign-Management: Clips, holders, pushers,
- Floral: Merchandising fixtures & coolers
- Other Equipment: Wrap stations, juicing machines, pineapple corers, misting systems, etc.
A Produce Retailer Case Study: Dibruno Brothers, Philadelphia
DISPLAY FIXTURES – STORE LAYOUT CHANGES –PRODUCT OFFERINGS –READY TO EAT FRUIT – MERCH TECHNIQUES
Support Implementing New Ideas
- Assistance with Vendor Negotiations
- In-Store Hands on Merchandising Training
- Standard Operating Procedures
- Merchandising Concepts
- Product Mix Development
- Fresh Item Packaging Solutions
