ORLANDO -- The new emphasis on consumers is compelling retailers to seek out produce suppliers with a strong sense of the customer, and extensive market knowledge, according to retailer-panelists at the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association's Annual Produce Business Conference & Expo, which concluded last week.
They expect shipper/growers, for example, to share consumer and market information that will help retailers reach the right consumer with the right product at the right time.
"The supplier can profile the consumer we need to impress," said Darrell Genthner, director of sales/category management for A&P, Montvale, N.J.
Genthner described the proactive role his company takes in teaching suppliers what A&P needs and also in sharing its own data with them.
"We put on seminars to explain the category management process to them, and we've been very pleased with what we've accomplished in the last 18 months," Genthner said.
Other panelists included Steve Junqueiro, director of produce and floral, Save Mart Supermarkets, Modesto, Calif.; Chris Van Parys, vice president of produce and salad bar operations, Farm Fresh Supermarkets, Norfolk, Va.; and Mike Kemp, corporate director, produce and floral, Supervalu, Minneapolis.
The Perishables Group, a Chicago-based marketing and consulting firm, presented the panel discussion as part of a daylong produce marketing and management session at the United conference. Steve Lutz, executive vice president, Perishables Group, kicked off the session with data the group collected in a recent trade survey.
Notably, the poll showed that a full 100% of retailer-respondents want additional consumer and product consumption data from suppliers, but only 19% said they're getting such support.
In addition, the survey showed more than three-quarters of respondents want competitive data and information on market intelligence, category review and planning from their suppliers. But less than 15%, in fact, are getting it.
"I agree with the results of the whole survey. The relationship between buyers and sellers has changed a lot. In fact, the development of business relationships [between retailer and supplier] is probably the biggest change in the industry in the last 10 or 12 years," said Save Mart's Junqueiro.
He explained that suppliers who become Save Mart's partners are suppliers who can help the chain with a strategic plan and marketing tactics.
"We do it on a category basis. Our partners understand we may involve other suppliers in the endeavor, but most understand it's for the benefit of the category."
Mike Kemp of Supervalu, which operates retail stores and as a wholesaler supplier, emphasized that suppliers aren't doing all they can to sell product.
"We'd like our suppliers to take a little more ownership in helping to move product through the system and then out the front door to consumers. Suppliers are spending enormous amounts of money trying to understand, for example, kiwi consumers. We don't do that. We want their help," Kemp said.
Farm Fresh's Van Parys put it this way: "As a retailer we wouldn't put something on the shelf and not give the consumer incentive to buy it. So why would it be different for us buying from him?"
On the other hand, it's just as bad for the retailer to make the decision for the consumer, Van Parys added.
