The produce department of a Wegmans store
solutions that might persist for many years to come. Victor Savanello, vice president of produce and flo - ral merchandising at SpartanNash Co., in Grand Rapids, MI, notes that the pandemic demanded swift, innovative responses. He says that going through and coming out of Covid, SpartanNash was recognized for “how we were exemplary at providing our customers, our own stores and the consumers that shop in them, with product. From a service level perspective as a wholesaler, we didn’t lose a beat. I mean, we stayed in the high- to mid-90s from a service-level perspective through the entire Covid-19 timeframe by being flexible and being creative with what we offered our customers. We had to figure out how to sell what was out there, which in my opinion is what we had to do immediately. And, we did well.” The pandemic reduced labor availability, but Savanello’s solution was to introduce pre-stocked bins, among other successful strategies, to minimize in-store labor requirements. One notable strategy involved selling significant numbers of apples in tote bags. This addressed two issues: firstly, consumers were reassured that their produce hadn’t been handled by others, and secondly,
labor wasn’t required to bag the apples. These apples were packaged at the source and transported directly to the store floor. Before Covid-19, customers typically selected three or four loose apples. “Now they’re taking that tote bag apple, which has 10, 12, 14 apples in it,” says Savanello. Additionally, in collaboration with Melissa’s, a Los Angeles-based produce distributor, Savanello enhanced floor utilization and decreased labor needs. Melissa’s provided a self-contained, overwrapped pallet master pack display of exotic fruits and vegetables. With such a variety, “I could never slot every one of those items. But if I have Melissa’s working directly with my buying team, and then with my stores, we can offer the full assortment of Melissa’s products that go to our stores, pre-made for each store. So, utilizing a master pack program allows you to expand your sales.” During the pandemic, SpartanNash expanded its prod- uct range. The company reduced its stock of small herb clamshells due to its labor-intensive restocking process. However, with restaurants largely closed, there was a surge in home cooking. Savanello and his team recognized this shift and sourced larger herb packages for consumers.
20 Vision Magazine
October/November 2023
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