Over the past dozen years, scores of retail produce managers have been honored during the United Fresh Produce Association convention, and now the group is planning to add value to the program on a year-round basis.

Each year since 2005, dozens of retailers throughout the country have nominated their top produce department performers with 25 worthy recipients annually being honored at the United Fresh convention. The United Fresh Retail Produce Manager Awards Program fetes these innovative front-line merchandisers at a special convention dinner and each honoree participates in that year’s trade show, seminars and networking events.Greg Corrigan

“This program is a powerful way for retailers to recognize their outstanding produce managers for their hard work and commitment to the industry,” said Greg Corrigan, senior director of produce and floral for Sacramento, CA-based Raley’s Family of Fine Stores, and chairman of the United Fresh’s Retail-Foodservice Board. “The winning produce managers are recognized as leaders in their field and excellent representatives of the produce industry for our customers.”

The produce managers get recognized by the industry at large and come back from the event “with an extra bounce in their step,” said Mike Orf, assistant vice president of produce operations of Hy-Vee Inc., a 260-store chain headquartered in West Des Moines, IA. “It’s a great opportunity to recognize the people who really are the face of the industry. They take care of our customers and drive consumption. It is what retail is all about.”

Kevin Barry, director of produce and floral of Big Y Foods Inc., headquartered in Springfield, MA, agreed, saying the value of attending the United Fresh convention is immeasurable for these produce managers. Big Y has had an award winner for each of the six years it has participated. He said the winning produce manager is given an educational opportunity that he would not get otherwise, which enables that manager to up his own game. In fact, two of the past Hy-Vee winners have been promoted from the store level to produce merchandiser.

Jeff Oberman, vice president of trade relations for United Fresh, said that while the program has been an excellent one for the past decade, there is a concerted effort to enhance its year-round value.

This past year, United Fresh proactively promoted the 25 winners with individual profiles and store visits. It encourages individual retailers to do the same by honoring their winners throughout the year.

In conjunction with Dole, the awards program sponsor, United Fresh is placing an extra emphasis on the program this year. One way to accomplish a more year-round program is to move the application date up, giving more time for the nominees to be honored and prepare for the United Fresh convention. The deadline for applications this year is Jan. 5, 2016.

Howard Roeder, president of Dole Fresh, said the company jumped at the chance to be a sponsor of this effort last year and the firm is a huge proponent of adding year-round value to the program. He became aware of the produce manager awards years ago and was inspired by the stories of the produce managers at each year’s awards dinner, noting that the event was a “personal highlight” of the convention.

Roeder called the work that produce managers do “mission critical” for the fresh produce industry and said through his many years of selling value-added fresh produce SKUs, the success of each product is highly dependent on the efforts of the produce manager.

This year’s winners will be named in March, and from March until the convention in June, Dole and United Fresh plan to honor all winners in their hometown with recognition that can be turned into produce industry publicity.

In addition, he said talks are ongoing as to additional ways to tap into the 2016 class and the knowledge they have to share with the industry.  In the past, many of these managers have been featured at a United Fresh convention workshop. Roeder said there is also discussion about impaneling a Produce Managers Advisory Council utilize the group’s expertise to increase produce consumption.

He said the discussions are focused on making it more than a two-day event, enlisting this group on a year-round basis and getting past winners involved.

“We’ve got a club — a special club — and we need to engage with them further,” Roeder said.    

Orf of Hy-Vee said his company agrees with the ongoing value of this effort and makes a very big deal of its own nomination process. It is an opportunity, he said, to recognize multiple produce managers. Hy-Vee has been involved in the program since its inception and each year it has nominated about 10 produce managers for the award.

“We have been fortunate to have two winners for each of the past seven years and a couple of grand prize winners,” he said.

Orf said the nominating process gives the retailer an opportunity to honor all of the nominees, not just the eventual United Fresh winners.  He said the nominees and winners are noted in company newsletters and even with in-store signage, so the customers know that the produce manager for that particular store is a top performer.

Orf said there is friendly competition among produce managers at Hy-Vee stores to do an excellent job and be so honored.

United’s Oberman said this is the kind of activity that gives the program year-round value and helps increase produce consumption.

Corrigan of Raley’s noted, “We have made this a very important aspect of staff development at Raley’s.”

Rick Reed, vice president of produce and floral merchandising for Price Chopper in Schenectady, NY, said at his operation that concept has played out very well. He said last year’s winner for Price Chopper has been an excellent produce manager and is clearly a “rising star” at the company.

“He just interviewed for a specialist or field merchandiser job and he has a very good chance of getting it,” Reed said.

Like the other retailers interviewed, Reed said the nominees and winners are recognized in several ways by the company, creating value for the program by singling out Price Chopper’s top produce managers to other company employees. The firm nominates nine produce managers each year — one from each operating zone of the retailer — and hopes for one winner. The winner is then announced in a company newsletter that includes the name of previous winners in an effort to continue to recognize the best managers.

In designing the program, United Fresh opens it to all retailers, large and small, with the goal of honoring “produce managers who are making a difference and setting the standards of excellence in the produce department.”

By recognizing the best produce managers in each organization, United Fresh said a retailer is raising the bar within its own company.

Once the nominations have been made, a committee of produce marketing experts evaluate the applicants on a number of criteria, such as innovative merchandising, produce-related community service, commitment to customer satisfaction and promoting fresh produce.

Retailers may nominate multiple produce managers from their operation but previous winners are not eligible. The winners and a corporate produce executive from their chain receive complimentary airfare, hotel accommodations and registration to the United Fresh 2016 convention, to be held June 20-22 in Chicago. In addition, five grand prize winners are named and each receive an additional $1,000 cash prize.

Nomination forms may be accessed online (www.unitedfresh.org) and must be received by Jan. 5, 2016.