We're delighted to have produce manager Ryan Vann, produce regional supervisor Jason Riggs, and vice president of produce operations Mike Roberts — all from Harps Food Stores — as our guests this week. The International Fresh Produce Association has recognized Ryan as one of the best in the business, naming him among 20 honorees this year for its Retail Produce Manager Awards Program. In this episode, Ryan discusses how he got into the business; what the transition was like from his previous industry, foodservice; his development as a leader; what he enjoys most about being in the store; his experience with the Southeast Produce Council's STEP-UPP program; how he evaluates potential in team members; how he breaks up his day and makes time to train his team members; and more. Jason and Mike discuss their internal process for selecting nominees for IFPA recognition; Ryan's contribution not just to his own store but to the broader company; Ryan's ability to identify and cultivate emerging leaders; Mike's commitment to educating produce managers not only on products but on leadership as well — and how his own leadership journey informed that passion; and other topics. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!

We're delighted to have produce manager Ryan Vann, produce regional supervisor Jason Riggs, and vice president of produce operations Mike Roberts &mdash; all from Harps Food Stores &mdash; as our guests this week. The International Fresh Produce Association has recognized Ryan as one of the best in the business, naming him among 20 honorees this year for its Retail Produce Manager Awards Program. In this episode, Ryan discusses how he got into the business; what the transition was like from his previous industry, foodservice; his development as a leader; what he enjoys most about being in the store; his experience with the Southeast Produce Council's STEP-UPP program; how he evaluates potential in team members; how he breaks up his day and makes time to train his team members; and more.&nbsp;Jason and Mike discuss their internal process for selecting nominees for IFPA recognition; Ryan's contribution not just to his own store but to the broader company; Ryan's ability to identify and cultivate emerging leaders; Mike's commitment to educating produce managers not only on products but on leadership as well &mdash; and how his own leadership journey informed that passion; and other topics. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!

The Produce Retail Podcast is the place for thought leaders in the industry to talk shop. Join us for conversations on strategy, business partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and much more. We'll have regular guests as well as more occasional visitors, and the goal is always to deliver conversations that inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth. This podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, produce industry enthusiast and founder and CEO of Ashley Nickle Growth Strategies.  

The Produce Retail Podcast is the place for thought leaders in the industry to talk shop. Join us for conversations on strategy, business partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and much more. We'll have regular guests as well as more occasional visitors, and the goal is always to deliver conversations that inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth. This podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, produce industry enthusiast and founder and CEO of Ashley Nickle Growth Strategies.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Produce Retail Podcast

This curated playlist of The Produce Retail Podcast features conversations with produce managers — the hard-working professionals with wide-ranging roles whose ultimate responsibility is to turn the vision of corporate leadership into reality at the store level. How do they do it? That's what listeners will learn in these episodes. Hosted by Ashley Nickle, who became immersed in the industry as a member of the trade press and later launched her own consulting firm, The Produce Retail Podcast overall covers a wide variety of produce retail topics: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising, marketing, assortment and beyond. 

This curated playlist of The Produce Retail Podcast features conversations with produce managers — the hard-working professionals with wide-ranging roles whose ultimate responsibility is to turn the vision of corporate leadership into reality at the store level. How do they do it? That's what listeners will learn in these episodes. Hosted by <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleynickle">Ashley Nickle</a>, who became immersed in the industry as a member of the trade press and later launched her own consulting firm, The Produce Retail Podcast overall covers a wide variety of produce retail topics: strategy, partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising, marketing, assortment and beyond.

A playlist focused on conversations with retail produce managers.

Produce Manager Perspective — The Produce Retail Podcast

Produce manager Ryan Vann, regional supervisor Jason Riggs, and VP of produce operations Mike Roberts of Harps Food Stores

We're delighted to welcome for this week's episode Erin Esensee, director of business development at Decowraps, and Jennie Kellerman Garbarek, sales director for mass market North America at Tessa. Erin was previously the longtime floral director of H-E-B, where she was recognized by IFPA in 2023 as Floral Marketer of the Year, and Jennie is a veteran of SpartanNash, Mariano’s and Roundy’s. In this conversation, they discuss the complexity of the floral department and the reasons why floral leadership should always aim to be working a year in advance. They talk about transitioning in and out of holidays; leaning on suppliers to keep up with the consumer trends; how the global nature of the business plays into planning; the rise of microholidays; the growing popular culture relevance of floral; the increasing presence of private brand in floral; the undervalued practice of getting out in stores and talking to customers and department managers; the still largely untapped opportunity of e-commerce for floral; and much more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!

We're delighted to welcome for this week's episode Erin Esensee, director of business development at Decowraps, and Jennie Kellerman Garbarek, sales director for mass market North America at Tessa. Erin was&nbsp;previously the longtime floral director of H-E-B, where she was recognized by IFPA in 2023 as Floral Marketer of the Year, and Jennie is a veteran of SpartanNash, Mariano&rsquo;s and Roundy&rsquo;s. In this conversation, they discuss the complexity of the floral department and the reasons why floral leadership should always aim to be working a year in advance. They talk about transitioning in and out of holidays; leaning on suppliers to keep up with the consumer trends; how the global nature of the business plays into planning; the rise of microholidays; the growing popular culture relevance of floral; the increasing presence of private brand in floral; the undervalued practice of getting out in stores and talking to customers and department managers; the still largely untapped opportunity of e-commerce for floral; and much more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!

Former H-E-B floral director and 2023 IFPA Floral Marketer of the Year Erin Esensee and floral retail veteran Jennie Kellerman Garbarek on the importance of timeline in floral

We're delighted to welcome as our guest for this week's episode Clark Roper, a senior team leader at Chick-fil-A Supply, which is a subsidiary of Chick-fil-A. Clark has been with Chick-fil-A since 2022, but before that, he spent seven years as a produce buyer for Piggly Wiggly. Along with reflections on logistics, category management and more from his retail days, Clark shares his perspective on how Chick-fil-A elicits such remarkable performance primarily from young, part-time employees. He also discusses tools, like the Enneagram and Working Genius, that help identify strengths, weaknesses and tendencies of team members and explains the impact those have made in allowing him to support his team better. If you lead people, this is a conversation you shouldn't miss. Enjoy!

We're delighted to welcome as our guest for this week's episode Clark Roper, a senior team leader at Chick-fil-A Supply, which is a subsidiary of Chick-fil-A. Clark has been with Chick-fil-A since 2022, but before that, he spent seven years as a produce buyer for Piggly Wiggly. Along with reflections on logistics, category management and more from his retail days, Clark shares his&nbsp;perspective on how Chick-fil-A elicits such remarkable performance primarily from young, part-time employees. He also discusses tools, like the Enneagram and Working Genius, that help identify strengths, weaknesses and tendencies of team members and explains the impact those have made in allowing him to support his team better. If you lead people, this is a conversation you shouldn't miss. Enjoy!

Chick-fil-A Supply's Clark Roper talks intentional leadership, investing in young team members, and lessons from his retail days

We're delighted to welcome back to the podcast Anne-Marie Roerink, the principal of 210 Analytics. Anne-Marie is well known to many in the produce world for her insightful reports and presentations in collaboration with Circana and industry associations like the International Fresh Produce Association and the Southeast Produce Council. In this episode, Anne-Marie and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discuss topics stemming from the SEPC's What's New report, which debuted at Southern Innovations. Their conversation covers the continuing growth fruit but downturn for vegetables; the concentration of new units and dollars coming from millennials; the sentiment of that generation toward fruits versus vegetables; how millennials and their children are interacting with produce and to what extent pickiness is influencing purchases; how fresh produce is seeing more competition from smoothies, powders, supplements and bars; how suppliers and retailers can come alongside parents and make vegetables fun for their kids; the emerging trend of "fiber maxing" as an opportunity for produce; what fresh produce can learn from its CPG counterparts on selling the benefits of certain nutrients; what implications the increasing spending power of millennials has for order quantities, delivery cadences, stocking best practices, and more; how kids today respond to marinades, sauces and seasonings and the potential of those "extras" to elevate how consumers experience vegetables; and much more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!

We're delighted to welcome back to the podcast Anne-Marie Roerink, the principal of 210 Analytics. Anne-Marie is well known to many in the produce world for her insightful reports and presentations in collaboration with Circana and industry associations like the International Fresh Produce Association and the Southeast Produce Council. In this episode, Anne-Marie and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle discuss topics stemming from the SEPC's What's New report, which debuted at Southern Innovations. Their conversation covers the continuing growth fruit but downturn for vegetables; the concentration of new units and dollars coming from millennials; the sentiment of that generation toward fruits versus vegetables; how millennials and their children are interacting with produce and to what extent pickiness is influencing purchases; how fresh produce is seeing more competition from smoothies, powders, supplements and bars; how suppliers and retailers can come alongside parents and make vegetables fun for their kids; the emerging trend of "fiber maxing" as an opportunity for produce; what fresh produce can learn from its CPG counterparts on selling the benefits of certain nutrients; what implications the increasing spending power of millennials has for order quantities, delivery cadences, stocking best practices, and more; how kids today respond to marinades, sauces and seasonings and the potential of those "extras" to elevate how consumers experience vegetables; and much more. Hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did!

Anne-Marie Roerink talks about the diverging trajectories of fruit and veg; millennial spending power; the influence of picky kids on purchasing; and more

Produce manager Ryan Vann, regional supervisor Jason Riggs, and VP of produce operations Mike Roberts of Harps Food Stores

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