We're delighted to welcome three guests for this week's episode: produce manager Alicia Lewis, produce merchandiser Mike Harrington, and vice president of produce operations Mike Roberts, all of Harps Food Stores. Alicia has been recognized by the International Fresh Produce Association this year as one of the best in the business as an honoree of the Retail Produce Manager Awards program, and so we talk with Alicia about when she knew produce could be a career for her; how she developed her understanding of the numbers side of the role; how she approaches training her team; how she balances running the department at her store and helping with training and remerchandising at other stores as well; and much more. Mike and Mike discuss what led to Alicia's nomination for this award; the attributes that make her stellar in her role; the importance of utilizing top-notch produce managers beyond their stores to make the whole company better; setting produce managers up with opportunities to continue to grow in their roles; and more. Hope you enjoy the conversation!

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.