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.