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!