We’re delighted to have as our guests for this episode Tops Markets produce manager Brad Franklin and produce and floral field specialist Cole Bickal. Brad has been recognized this year as one of the honorees of the International Fresh Produce Association’s Retail Produce Manager Awards Program. In this conversation, Brad discusses his start in the industry, what he finds most engaging about his work, the growth he’s made in floral, the balance of increasing sales and decreasing shrink, and more. Cole talks about the attributes that make Brad a significant asset for the company, including his role as a district trainer and his endless curiosity about ways to improve his department. If you’re headed to the IFPA’s Global Show, look for Brad at the Retail Awards Reception on Friday, Oct. 18!

To hear more from Brad, check out the IFPA's five-part webinar series featuring roundtable conversations with groups of this year's winners. The webinars are co-hosted by IFPA's Joe Watson and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle. If you can't catch a webinar live, the recordings are hosted on this page. https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/retail/retail-produce-manager-award-winners-webinar-series/

For more episodes of The Produce Retail Podcast 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.

We’re delighted to have as our guests for this episode Tops Markets produce manager Brad Franklin and produce and floral field specialist Cole Bickal. Brad has been recognized this year as one of the honorees of the International Fresh Produce Association’s Retail Produce Manager Awards Program. In this conversation, Brad discusses his start in the industry, what he finds most engaging about his work, the growth he’s made in floral, the balance of increasing sales and decreasing shrink, and more. Cole talks about the attributes that make Brad a significant asset for the company, including his role as a district trainer and his endless curiosity about ways to improve his department. If you’re headed to the IFPA’s Global Show, look for Brad at the Retail Awards Reception on Friday, Oct. 18!
To hear more from Brad, check out the IFPA's five-part webinar series featuring roundtable conversations with groups of this year's winners. The webinars are co-hosted by IFPA's Joe Watson and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle. If you can't catch a webinar live, the recordings are hosted on this page. <a href="https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/retail/retail-produce-manager-award-winners-webinar-series/">https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/retail/retail-produce-manager-award-winners-webinar-series/</a>
For more episodes of The Produce Retail Podcast focused on produce managers, <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/produce-manager-perspective-the-produce-retail-pod">check out this curated playlist</a>. 
More Playlists
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/executive-perspective-the-produce-retail-podcast">Executive Perspective</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/leadership-training-the-produce-retail-podcast">Leadership &amp; Training</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/merchandising-marketing-the-produce-retail-podcast">Marketing &amp; Merchandising</a>
</li>
</ul>
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 <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleynickle">Ashley Nickle</a>, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleynickle">on LinkedIn.</a>

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

Tops Markets produce manager Brad Franklin and produce and floral field specialist Cole Bickal

We're delighted to have as our guests for this week's episode produce manager Bishop Tart, supervisor Josh Smith and vice president of sales and marketing Price Mabry to talk about Bishop's recognition by the International Fresh Produce Association as part of the Retail Produce Manager Awards Program Class of 2024. Bishop talks about his start in the business (working with his dad, a produce manager himself for 40-plus years); where he focuses his time and what he delegates to his team; planning and executing show-stopping seasonal displays; his philosophy on cross-training rather than having team members specialize; the growth of fresh cut; and more. Josh and Price explain what set Bishop apart for the nomination this year and detail how Corner Market has made IFPA recognition a point of pride and competition between stores — and they provide an update on how Corner Market's previous two winners have advanced in their careers since receiving their awards.

To hear more from Bishop, check out the IFPA's five-part webinar series featuring roundtable conversations with groups of this year's winners. The webinars are co-hosted by IFPA's Joe Watson and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle. If you can't catch a webinar live, the recordings are hosted on this page. https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/retail/retail-produce-manager-award-winners-webinar-series/

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.

We're delighted to have as our guests for this week's episode produce manager Bishop Tart, supervisor Josh Smith and vice president of sales and marketing Price Mabry to talk about Bishop's recognition by the International Fresh Produce Association as part of the Retail Produce Manager Awards Program Class of 2024. Bishop talks about his start in the business (working with his dad, a produce manager himself for 40-plus years); where he focuses his time and what he delegates to his team; planning and executing show-stopping seasonal displays; his philosophy on cross-training rather than having team members specialize; the growth of fresh cut; and more. Josh and Price explain what set Bishop apart for the nomination this year and detail how Corner Market has made IFPA recognition a point of pride and competition between stores — and they provide an update on how Corner Market's previous two winners have advanced in their careers since receiving their awards.
To hear more from Bishop, check out the IFPA's five-part webinar series featuring roundtable conversations with groups of this year's winners. The webinars are co-hosted by IFPA's Joe Watson and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle. If you can't catch a webinar live, the recordings are hosted on this page. <a href="https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/retail/retail-produce-manager-award-winners-webinar-series/">https://www.freshproduce.com/resources/retail/retail-produce-manager-award-winners-webinar-series/</a>
For more episodes focused on produce managers, <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/produce-manager-perspective-the-produce-retail-pod">check out this curated playlist</a>. 
More Playlists
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/executive-perspective-the-produce-retail-podcast">Executive Perspective</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/leadership-training-the-produce-retail-podcast">Leadership &amp; Training</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/merchandising-marketing-the-produce-retail-podcast">Marketing &amp; Merchandising</a>
</li>
</ul>
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 <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleynickle">Ashley Nickle</a>, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleynickle">on LinkedIn.</a>

Corner Market produce manager Bishop Tart, plus supervisor Josh Smith and vice president of sales and marketing Price Mabry

We're delighted to welcome back to The Produce Retail Podcast longtime executive Scott Schuette. Over the last 35-plus years Scott has served in leadership roles with Fresh Thyme, Sprouts and Bashas. He’s been recognized as Produce Retailer of the Year and Specialty Food Retailer of the Year. He’s also been so kind to be a regular on this podcast and share his perspective on all kinds of executive topics, from managing across divisions to developing the annual budget to writing to the ad — and many, many more.

On this week's episode, Scott and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle tackle a topic that also featured prominently in the first-ever State of the Produce Manager report — the topic of how much leeway produce managers have to make decisions for their department. Scott gives examples of successful retailers all along the spectrum, from ones that tightly control presentation from a corporate level to ones that give produce managers significant discretion. He also discusses his views on which decisions should be made at the corporate level and which should be made at the store level. Scott also talks about store segmentation as a way to keep assortment and merchandising relatively consistent while still accounting for differences in customer bases and store layouts.

Scott also notes the role of operational leadership and effective communication about standards. He discusses how produce managers can earn more leeway to make decisions and the importance of letting them experiment and learn from their successes and failures. Scott also brings up the leeway produce managers have in how they develop their team members and the opportunity they have to adjust their style as needed and personalize their approach to the personalities of folks in their department.

For more conversations featuring executive perspective, check out this playlist dedicated to conversations with current and former vice presidents of produce, directors of produce, and other executive roles. 

More Playlists


Merchandising & Marketing


Leadership & Training


Produce Manager Perspective

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.

We're delighted to welcome back to The Produce Retail Podcast longtime executive Scott Schuette. Over the last 35-plus years Scott has served in leadership roles with Fresh Thyme, Sprouts and Bashas. He’s been recognized as Produce Retailer of the Year and Specialty Food Retailer of the Year. He’s also been so kind to be a regular on this podcast and share his perspective on all kinds of executive topics, from managing across divisions to developing the annual budget to writing to the ad — and many, many more.
On this week's episode, Scott and The Produce Retail Podcast host Ashley Nickle tackle a topic that also featured prominently in the <a href="https://www.producebluebook.com/2024/01/08/state-of-the-produce-manager-report-explores-training-career-pathing-job-satisfaction-and-more/">first-ever State of the Produce Manager report</a> — the topic of how much leeway produce managers have to make decisions for their department. Scott gives examples of successful retailers all along the spectrum, from ones that tightly control presentation from a corporate level to ones that give produce managers significant discretion. He also discusses his views on which decisions should be made at the corporate level and which should be made at the store level. Scott also talks about store segmentation as a way to keep assortment and merchandising relatively consistent while still accounting for differences in customer bases and store layouts.
Scott also notes the role of operational leadership and effective communication about standards. He discusses how produce managers can earn more leeway to make decisions and the importance of letting them experiment and learn from their successes and failures. Scott also brings up the leeway produce managers have in how they develop their team members and the opportunity they have to adjust their style as needed and personalize their approach to the personalities of folks in their department.
For more conversations featuring executive perspective, check out this<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/executive-perspective-the-produce-retail-podcast"> playlist</a> dedicated to conversations with current and former vice presidents of produce, directors of produce, and other executive roles. 
More Playlists
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/merchandising-marketing-the-produce-retail-podcast">Merchandising &amp; Marketing</a> 
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/leadership-training-the-produce-retail-podcast">Leadership &amp; Training</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/produce-manager-perspective-the-produce-retail-pod">Produce Manager Perspective</a>
</li>
</ul>
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 <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleynickle">Ashley Nickle</a>, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleynickle">on LinkedIn.</a>

Longtime produce retail exec Scott Schuette discusses how to distribute decision-making between corporate and store level

We're delighted to have as our guest on this week's episode of the podcast Anne-Marie Roerink, the principal of 210 Analytics. Anne-Marie is well known in produce and across the broader grocery landscape for her insightful reports and presentations on what's happening in different parts of the store and what's happening in the world of the consumer — how and why they say they're shopping the way they are. In this conversation, Anne-Marie shares the trends she's seeing in deli and prepared foods and what produce can learn from the growth happening in that department, including the opportunity retailers have to capture what would be restaurant trips; the willingness of shoppers to make a separate trip to a different retailer for a specific foodservice offering; how retailers can build the basket during those replacing-a-restaurant-meal occasions; the different ways retailers are delivering convenience through the deli and how departments like produce and meat need to be proactive to collaborate so they don't get skipped when convenience is the priority; why grab-and-go meals like pizza often don't include mushrooms and how creative retailers are making pizzas customizable — and including more produce; how operational realities (and sometimes department silos) present challenges for some of the most aspirational cross-merchandising opportunities; and much more. Enjoy!

For more episodes featuring marketing and merchandising perspective, check out this curated playlist for plenty of thought-provoking discussion. 

More Playlists


Executive Perspective


Leadership & Training


Produce Manager Perspective

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.

We're delighted to have as our guest on this week's episode of the podcast Anne-Marie Roerink, the principal of 210 Analytics. Anne-Marie is well known in produce and across the broader grocery landscape for her insightful reports and presentations on what's happening in different parts of the store and what's happening in the world of the consumer — how and why they say they're shopping the way they are. In this conversation, Anne-Marie shares the trends she's seeing in deli and prepared foods and what produce can learn from the growth happening in that department, including the opportunity retailers have to capture what would be restaurant trips; the willingness of shoppers to make a separate trip to a different retailer for a specific foodservice offering; how retailers can build the basket during those replacing-a-restaurant-meal occasions; the different ways retailers are delivering convenience through the deli and how departments like produce and meat need to be proactive to collaborate so they don't get skipped when convenience is the priority; why grab-and-go meals like pizza often don't include mushrooms and how creative retailers are making pizzas customizable — and including more produce; how operational realities (and sometimes department silos) present challenges for some of the most aspirational cross-merchandising opportunities; and much more. Enjoy!
For more episodes featuring marketing and merchandising perspective, <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/merchandising-marketing-the-produce-retail-podcast">check out this curated playlist</a> for plenty of thought-provoking discussion. 
More Playlists
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/executive-perspective-the-produce-retail-podcast">Executive Perspective</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/leadership-training-the-produce-retail-podcast">Leadership &amp; Training</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://omny.fm/shows/the-produce-retail-podcast/playlists/produce-manager-perspective-the-produce-retail-pod">Produce Manager Perspective</a>
</li>
</ul>
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 <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleynickle">Ashley Nickle</a>, a former trade journalist turned consultant. Have an idea for a topic or a guest? Give her a shout <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleynickle">on LinkedIn.</a>

Tops Markets produce manager Brad Franklin and produce and floral field specialist Cole Bickal

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