Craig Carlson, a former produce retail executive who has worked for some of the top chains in the country during his 30-year career, announced the formation of his new firm, Carlson Produce Consulting.

Carlson told The Produce News he had been thinking about forming his own consultancy for a while and the timing now seemed right.

"I am really excited for this new venture," he said. "My experience in retail and foodservice with Craig Carlsonsome of the largest regional, national and global firms can provide a unique perspective to most any organization. Additionally, my experience in procurement, supply chain management, category management, project management, strategic management and innovation is pretty much unmatched in the industry."

Carlson, a native of St. Paul, MN, started his career at Cub Foods, a division of Supervalu, as a produce and bakery buyer/merchandiser. He then moved on to Penn Traffic as vice president of produce operations and merchandising, where he spent 10 years overseeing 143 locations under the P&C, Quality Markets and Insalaco/Bi-Lo. Following that, he was hired as vice president of produce and floral merchandising for Carteret, NJ-based Pathmark Stores Inc., which had more than 142 stores in the New York/New Jersey and Philadelphia metro areas. Upon leaving Pathmark, he joined Walmart in 2008 as produce merchandising manager and rose to the position of senior director of produce. He left Walmart in 2011 to join U.S. Foods, where he was a senior vice president and senior director of category management and sourcing for produce, a position he held until June.

Carlson said his target audience is comprised of retailers, foodservice providers, wholesalers, grower-shippers and other supply chain solutions, like trucking and rail providers.

"My intent is to utilize my vast industry experience to listen and understand each client's individual needs and customize an approach to meet those needs," he said. "I think the biggest area where I can help is to work one-on-one with a client to strategically plan for their future for the next three to five years."

Aside from his professional positions, Carlson served the industry in a volunteer capacity as president of the Eastern Produce Council and on the board of directors for the Produce Marketing Association.

Carlson is based in Chicago, which "gives me easy access to virtually anywhere," he said. He can be reached at [email protected] or 732/245-3980. More details about Carlson's experience and services can be found at www.carlsonproduceconsulting.com.