How to sell fruits and vegetables

1. How to sell fruits and
vegetables

2. Forgotten category
For a change in review about fruits and vegetables I will do small introduction.
Probably everybody understands that this category is strategically important in
customer flow increase, fresh image of the store. And if to speak about ROI (return
of investments) – it is complete star! So why is it forgotten category? Every retailer is
looking after good quality, crosschecking deliveries, making beautiful layouts!
It is forgotten because, in comparison with other categories, it is getting less
attention from marketing and promotional activities (by the way – to put and show low
price for some items during season – it is not marketing or big promotional activity. It
is just action in order to stay competitive in market. Because everybody are doing the
same thing). Category is left to it’s manager and standing nice, sterile in front of
entrance (in the most of cases). With this review I’ll help You to fix it!

3. Main activities
1. Definition of the place - branding.
2. Year’s seasons – how to use changes of seasons.
3. What we are going to taste today – more inspirations to customer.
4. Natively ours – connection with own homeland.
5. Usual promotions for other products – unusual for fruits and vegetables.
6. Let’s not forget shrinkage.

4. Definition of the place - branding.
If You decided to make strong point on You
fruits and vegetables department – first of all
You must name it some how – to give him
brand name. And better to find some wide
universal word – maybe after some time You
will find out that “packaging free” movement
is getting very important ant to sell unpacked
rice, buckwheat or even pasta is good idea or
this name is very suitable for Your private
label for canned fruits ad vegetables. And of
course You have to use this trade mark in
Your leaflets, flyers, fruits and vegetables
department design, price labels and other
information carriers offline or online. (On
examples - synonyms of “open market”)

5. Year’s seasons – how to use changes of seasons
Well, now we have name
(brand) of the department.
Now we have to stress some
points, which are already
created by mother nature, to
concentrate them and
attractively highlight them to
customer. But not like that…

6. Year’s seasons – how to use changes of seasons
Or not like that…

7. Year’s seasons – how to use changes of seasons
Or even not like that…
By the way on this photo there is very big
choice of berries and exotic fruits for March
and such kind of a store – strawberry,
raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, red currant,
kumquat, several sorts of mango.
But this table it is not highlighted in fruits and
vegetables department and in distance of 2-3
meters it looks like colorful dot, not more…

8. Year’s seasons – how to use changes of seasons
It should be done like that.
Greeting «Taste the spring!»
meets customer on entrance
door, leads to sales floor…

9. Year’s seasons – how to use changes of seasons
And reveals itself in fruits
and vegetable department
To be precise – spring
assortment is not so big –
some greens, carrots with
greens, radishes, cauliflower.
But all this highlighting steals
attention of customer and
stops him in the department.
And extra time spend in
department or supermarket
means extra money…

10. Year’s seasons – how to use changes of seasons
There are a lot of options possible: “Season’s hits” through all year for lazy marketers, or “Taste Spring, Summer,
Autumn, Winter” or just any invitation “Taste all of this”. It is possible to change it every year in order to keep
customer entertained.

11. Year’s seasons – how to use changes of seasons
And any ideas and decisions, which are implemented in fruits and vegetables department, must find place on
all informational holders – offline or online – leaflets, flyers, catalogues, outside banners, applications,
internet sites and other possible places.

12. Year’s seasons – how to use changes of seasons
Marketing instrument like seasonality is very powerful gift from nature.
Especially for the retail chains who are located in the central part of Russia.
“New harvest” can go through all year – New Harvest from warm countries,
New Harvest from local greenhouse, New Harvest from the Russia fields
(south regions), New Harvest from fields of local region (Homeland Harvest).
And if it is divided in different crops – there will be a lot of never-ending
reasons to stimulate attention of customer. Just use it wisely.

13. What we are going to taste today – more
inspirations to customer
So customer is stopped in
“Vegie Market”. What’s
next? How to sell more
fruits and vegetables, how
to sell wider assortment,
how to sell 3 kg of potatoes
instead of 1kg?
This is not very
complicated. And it also
could be done during
appropriate seasons.
Recipes – how to prepare.
By recipes it is possible not
only to sell different mix of
seasonal or unusual fruits
and vegetables, but also
promote in-store production
for lazy customer.

14. Customer education – or simple explanation what is that, why and how it should be consumed, what a
difference between those items or just say that fruits and vegetables are very healthy choice. And all this
information in-store, offline, online in all necessary places.
What we are going to taste today – more
inspirations to customer

15. Very nice solution from
farmers products chain
Grand Frais in France.
So how to sell 3 kg of potatoes instead of 1kg?
Just different sorts of potatoes
have different usage – some for
boiling with skin, some just for
boiling, some is good for puree,
some for French fries, some
perfectly combines with raclette,
some with seafood, some with beef
and so on.
By using this approach – tasting of
potatoes for customers doesn’t
sounds like crazy idea.

16. Natively ours – connection with own homeland
It is trendy nowadays to consume local
products. There is ecological value – less
transportation, less burned fuel and health
value – local food is better balanced for
locals, goods are not covered in different
types of preservatives, fruits and vegetables
are fresher and easier to digest and of
course economical value – support of local
producer and in the most of cases simply
cheaper.
It is possible all products to put in one place
and highlight.

17. Natively ours – connection with own homeland
Or to show the faces
of local producers or
just promote local
brands.

18. Natively ours – connection with own homeland
And also to mark on
different information
carriers (online and offline)
local products or products
from remarkable regions
of Your country.
And like in all marketing
cases there should be
consistency – all what is
happening in fruits and
vegetables department has
to be relevant with what is
going in all media.

19. Usual promotions for other products – unusual
for fruits and vegetables
Buy 5+ kg
of our
potatoes…
…AND RECEIVE
INCREDIBLE SUPER
PRODUCTIVE STAINLESS
STEEL PEALING
MACHINE FROM
SOLINGEN
ABSOLUTELY
FREE

20. Usual promotions for other products – unusual
for fruits and vegetables

21. Usual promotions for other products – unusual
for fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are the same goods like others. And
all promotional activities are also working with them like
with other products.
It is not clear why lots of retailers forgot that. It is very
good instrument, especially for private label promotion
(small kitchen items with logo), sales increase and so on.

22. Let’s not forget shrinkage
Of course often all the beauty of fruits and vegetable department ends with
high shrinkage. In most of cases it is generated because 3 main reasons ( this is
with hope that quality and quantity reception, delivery of goods works good in
all stages of logistics – if it is not – it has to be done first)
1. Stock, store load.
2. Delivery.
3. Orders.

23. Stock, store load
In all my clients retail chains straight correlation
between stock in sales days and shrinkage percentage
was found. Big amounts of goods are drying, wrinkles,
rots. And it is not always connected with bad sales of
the store. A lot of shrinkage is generated by such main
factors – retail chain have started to operate Central
Warehouse, but stock keeping habits stayed the same –
like during two times per week delivery, too big area
for fruits and vegetable in general, or there are no
changes in layout during different seasons.
So first of all there have to be done control of such
things – is stock and sales area layout amount relevant
to sales. And after that to correct stock and layout to be
relevant to store sales. Of course beauty of department
and nice layout are unquestionable.
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
16.0
-30%
-25%
-20%
-15%
-10%
-5%
0%
1
4
7
10
13
16
19
22
25
28
31
34
37
40
43
46
49
52
55
58
61
64
67
70
73
76
79
82
85
88
91
94
97
100
103
Correlation betwee stock sales days and shrinkage %
% shrinkage Stock in days of sale Log. (% shrinkage)

24. Delivery
The biggest problems are in companies where Central Warehouse and logistics is in separate
enterprise or is “generating” incomes and expenses in internal accounting. In such case there
are endless “office wars” to become most effective department inside company forgetting
whole company effectiveness at all (as I once said – O.K. guys, let’s deliver stores once per
month and you will be damn effective department in dead company). But if there is need for
good fruits and vegetables department with low shrinkage:
1. There should be everyday delivery what guarantees freshness, minimal stock in stores and
happy customer.
2. There should be reasonable minimal orders relevant to sales – that also guarantees not
only freshness, but also possibility to have wide assortment in all types (small or big) of
stores. If there is need for this – deliver even by one unit.

25. Orders
1. There is no difference orders are done manually or by machine – stock in stores
must be precise. And if there is everyday delivery – it is easier to control.
2. Constant review of minimal order amounts relevance to sales. It have to be
checked practically every season for each fruit or vegetable.
3. Checking how rounding in order is done by machine (programmed rules) or by
personnel. It may sound funny, but strong urge to round last digit to 5, to 0, to full
factory box is strong and unexplainable even when it is possible to order by one
unit. Human psychology…

26. Let’s not forget shrinkage
Those actions are not complicated and simple, but they are decreasing
shrinkage in times.
By the way such actions are transferable to other ultra fresh products categories
like milk, bread, meat, fish. Because problems and decisions are similar.

27. THANK YOU FOR ATTENTION
If You like it and want to discuss more.
petras.cepkauskas@gmail.com
+370 685 121 56
+7 912 492 0007