We're delighted to bring you three guests in this week's episode: our recurring floral series star, Jennie Garbarek, sales director of mass market, North America, for Tessacorp, and a veteran of Roundy’s, Mariano’s and SpartanNash; Jake Rupert, director of sales and marketing at North Country Growers and a veteran of Roundy’s and Kroger; and Justin Heffernan, the vice president of sales for Fyffes North America and a veteran of Roundy’s and Jewel-Osco. They have each spent at least a decade on the buy side of the business — Jake almost two decades — and are now on the supply side. In this conversation with The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle, Justin, Jennie and Jake discuss the relationship between produce and floral; how those departments interact; how leaders tasked with managing across those departments can support both well; how building relationships plays a critical part in setting floral up for success during high-volume periods; leveraging competitive spirit to grow sales across the organization; incorporating floral into storewide events; the role of floral in the ad; the opportunity for greater collaboration between produce and floral; and much more. Enjoy!
If you've been enjoying these episodes on floral, check out the archives for more. Thanks for listening!

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
12:28

Chick-fil-A Supply's Clark Roper talks intentional leadership, investing in young team members, and lessons from his retail days
47:09

Anne-Marie Roerink talks about the diverging trajectories of fruit and veg; millennial spending power; the influence of picky kids on purchasing; and more
52:33