TECHNOLOGY AT WORK: Produce clerk bridging the information gap with podcasts
TECHNOLOGY AT WORK: Produce clerk bridging the information gap with podcasts
From his in-store vantage point, produce clerk Ray Ortega can see that a good many consumers are confused about the produce they buy. They are not even that sure how to tell if an apple is good, let alone how to pick a ripe coconut or a juicy pineapple.
"Over and over again, I'd hear the same questions," said Mr. Ortega. And it didn't really matter where he worked. He started his produce association at an Albertson's store in the San Francisco Bay area while in college in his mid-20s. High-end Bay area retailer Andronico's and one of its produce departments provided him with employment as he worked on his master's degree a handful of years later. And today he is a full-time produce clerk at a Harris-Teeter store in Alexandria, VA.
Working in a retail produce department is providing him his income but it is also providing Mr. Ortega fodder for his passion: produce podcasts that give consumers hands-on information about fruits and vegetables.
Through his web site -- producepicker.com -- he is teaching consumers how to pick an avocado (episode 3), core a pineapple (episode 5) and peel a pomegranate (episode 7). The web site, which is still in its infancy, includes recipes and other information, as well as pictures of many different fruits and vegetables.
Soon, Mr. Ortega is going to launch a "Food Newscast" on the site, which will highlight interesting news stories about fruits and vegetables from around the world. "If it's about fruits and vegetables and it's made headlines, it's likely to be found on 'Food Newscast,'" he said.
Currently, Mr. Ortega considers producepicker.com and the related podcasts a hobby, but he obviously would like to turn it into something bigger and better.
"I am very excited about podcasts, and I am very excited about fruits and vegetables," he said. "I would like to see [this web site] grow and attract advertising and generate revenue so that I could do more things. I'd love to take it on the road and do features from fields and orchards."
He is currently busy marketing the web site on other social networking forums, in between producing the shows and his full-time work as a produce clerk. He is the writer, editor, cameraman, producer and star of the podcasts. "I'd like to build a community of people interested in learning more and more about fruits and vegetables," he said.
The concept for the podcasts actually evolved from a book idea. While working at the Andronico's Market in Walnut Creek, CA, and being bombarded with the same old produce questions, Mr. Ortega began to do research and gather information about the items he was stocking and rotating each day. He launched producepicker.com initially with the idea of creating a book or a pamphlet that he could give or sell to his customers to increase their knowledge. "But then I heard about podcasting. The idea that I could reach many more people than just at store level was really exciting," he said.
Podcasting is basically a free medium. The information is given away with the provider creating other ways in which to create revenue, such as advertising or selling related items.
For example, the producepicker.com site includes a collaboration with a gift basket company that allows visitors the option of designing and ordering a fruit and/or vegetable basket. Presumably, producepicker.com profits each time a visitor orders a gift basket through the web site.
As Mr. Ortega was exploring the podcast concept and beginning to film his first show about how to pick a fresh apple, Andronico's closed the Walnut Creek store, which dovetailed closely with his girlfriend being accepted at an East Coast law school. The couple moved to Virginia during the summer of 2007, and Mr. Ortega both launched his podcasts and began working at Harris-Teeter in the fall. "I put out the first podcast in September of 2007."
The first podcast showed how a professional picked a ripe apple by using the wrinkle test. Mr. Ortega told his viewers that you should hold an apple firmly and run your thumb across the skin. If it wrinkles, pick another apple. An apple should have a firm, shiny surface, not a surface that wrinkles under pressure, he said.
His second episode explored the value of weight when it comes to picking citrus. Mr. Ortega explained that not all lemons are created equal, even if they look exactly the same. He advised his audience to pick the heavier item when comparing citrus products.
He put out seven episodes in the ensuing four months and is now trying to produce a new show every other week, in addition to the aforementioned plan for an accompanying Food Newscast.
Mr. Ortega is not quite sure what the future holds, but he is confident that it will include producepicker.com. He has worked in the grocery business for almost half of his 34 years, starting as a bagger at a Safeway store and spending about six or seven of those years working in produce. During that time, he earned an undergraduate degree as well as a master's in sociology. And to boot, he graduated from the police academy in California and spent time in police work, which wasn't to his liking.
Currently he is content working as a produce clerk by day and a podcaster by night, but he admits to having greater aspirations.
"Eventually I'd like to get a marketing job, preferably in the produce industry," he said. "Maybe at retail or maybe at the distributor level."
(Technology@Work is an occasional series that focuses on technological advances employed by individuals or companies in the produce industry. Please contact John Groh at [email protected] with story ideas for this feature.)
"Over and over again, I'd hear the same questions," said Mr. Ortega. And it didn't really matter where he worked. He started his produce association at an Albertson's store in the San Francisco Bay area while in college in his mid-20s. High-end Bay area retailer Andronico's and one of its produce departments provided him with employment as he worked on his master's degree a handful of years later. And today he is a full-time produce clerk at a Harris-Teeter store in Alexandria, VA.
Working in a retail produce department is providing him his income but it is also providing Mr. Ortega fodder for his passion: produce podcasts that give consumers hands-on information about fruits and vegetables.
Through his web site -- producepicker.com -- he is teaching consumers how to pick an avocado (episode 3), core a pineapple (episode 5) and peel a pomegranate (episode 7). The web site, which is still in its infancy, includes recipes and other information, as well as pictures of many different fruits and vegetables.
Soon, Mr. Ortega is going to launch a "Food Newscast" on the site, which will highlight interesting news stories about fruits and vegetables from around the world. "If it's about fruits and vegetables and it's made headlines, it's likely to be found on 'Food Newscast,'" he said.
Currently, Mr. Ortega considers producepicker.com and the related podcasts a hobby, but he obviously would like to turn it into something bigger and better.
"I am very excited about podcasts, and I am very excited about fruits and vegetables," he said. "I would like to see [this web site] grow and attract advertising and generate revenue so that I could do more things. I'd love to take it on the road and do features from fields and orchards."
He is currently busy marketing the web site on other social networking forums, in between producing the shows and his full-time work as a produce clerk. He is the writer, editor, cameraman, producer and star of the podcasts. "I'd like to build a community of people interested in learning more and more about fruits and vegetables," he said.
The concept for the podcasts actually evolved from a book idea. While working at the Andronico's Market in Walnut Creek, CA, and being bombarded with the same old produce questions, Mr. Ortega began to do research and gather information about the items he was stocking and rotating each day. He launched producepicker.com initially with the idea of creating a book or a pamphlet that he could give or sell to his customers to increase their knowledge. "But then I heard about podcasting. The idea that I could reach many more people than just at store level was really exciting," he said.
Podcasting is basically a free medium. The information is given away with the provider creating other ways in which to create revenue, such as advertising or selling related items.
For example, the producepicker.com site includes a collaboration with a gift basket company that allows visitors the option of designing and ordering a fruit and/or vegetable basket. Presumably, producepicker.com profits each time a visitor orders a gift basket through the web site.
As Mr. Ortega was exploring the podcast concept and beginning to film his first show about how to pick a fresh apple, Andronico's closed the Walnut Creek store, which dovetailed closely with his girlfriend being accepted at an East Coast law school. The couple moved to Virginia during the summer of 2007, and Mr. Ortega both launched his podcasts and began working at Harris-Teeter in the fall. "I put out the first podcast in September of 2007."
The first podcast showed how a professional picked a ripe apple by using the wrinkle test. Mr. Ortega told his viewers that you should hold an apple firmly and run your thumb across the skin. If it wrinkles, pick another apple. An apple should have a firm, shiny surface, not a surface that wrinkles under pressure, he said.
His second episode explored the value of weight when it comes to picking citrus. Mr. Ortega explained that not all lemons are created equal, even if they look exactly the same. He advised his audience to pick the heavier item when comparing citrus products.
He put out seven episodes in the ensuing four months and is now trying to produce a new show every other week, in addition to the aforementioned plan for an accompanying Food Newscast.
Mr. Ortega is not quite sure what the future holds, but he is confident that it will include producepicker.com. He has worked in the grocery business for almost half of his 34 years, starting as a bagger at a Safeway store and spending about six or seven of those years working in produce. During that time, he earned an undergraduate degree as well as a master's in sociology. And to boot, he graduated from the police academy in California and spent time in police work, which wasn't to his liking.
Currently he is content working as a produce clerk by day and a podcaster by night, but he admits to having greater aspirations.
"Eventually I'd like to get a marketing job, preferably in the produce industry," he said. "Maybe at retail or maybe at the distributor level."
(Technology@Work is an occasional series that focuses on technological advances employed by individuals or companies in the produce industry. Please contact John Groh at [email protected] with story ideas for this feature.)
