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.