A BIG
Bites November 28, 2022
Making a difference by creating opportunities to promote & sell more VT products to more buyers in the northeast & beyond
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Sometime things will level out but for now, retail food buyers are juggling many decisions to provide shoppers with products they are looking for at prices they can afford.
This is a particularly challenging time in Produce Departments. Take for instance lettuce prices. Currently we are seeing astronomical pricing ($110 per case up from $28 in September) on many varieties of lettuce. But the varieties we often reach for at this time of year are not even available from California. The reason, INSV, a pathogen in the Salina's Valley has overtaken lettuce crops resulting in cases unavailable for harvesting, packing & shipping. This region of the country provides more than half of the lettuce consumed in the US & Canada at 1.2 billion dollars in sales. Winter temperatures are generally cold enough to kill pathogens, while warmer temperatures assist the spread of them along with weeds that help foster an environment of growth.
Stores & their cafes along with restaurants are looking to get through the next few weeks with a lack of products available through the distribution chain & higher prices as the holiday season begins.
The national availability of lettuce (& other produce) is part of a choreographed economic engine that relies on transitions to distinct geographic growing areas, migrant labor force, & moveable harvest & packing lines. A disruption in any of these can magnify to the point that we are at now. Insufficient availability. High Prices. Lack of knowledge about production to help inform shoppers. In about a week the harvest moves south to Ventura then on to Yuma, AZ where there are other variables that come into play in addition to INSV.
But two things are for sure, availability will increase making prices drop & local & regional greens will continue to fly off the shelves of our stores. Read on for some more info on local & regional suppliers of produce & other winter foods.
"Today’s business environment is one of chaos: inflation, the potential for natural disasters, labor shortages and strikes, transport and port bottlenecks, and myriad other factors are omnipresent."
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Local & Regional Greens
Fit the Bill
Produce buyers in the region are juggling immense availability & pricing variables as stated above. We are fortunate to have growers across the state filling the gaps as best they can with a selection of salad greens & braising mixes grown in hoop & greenhouses. However, we cannot grow large head lettuces this time of year, but we do have options, which are incidentally really helping to fill out produce cases.
The Upper Valley Coop in WRJ, has micro greens from OmniPotent grown just across the NH border in Lebanon. They also have fabulous arugula & other greens from just down the road at Sunrise Farm. At the SORO Market, locally grown Luna Blue Farm spinach & cut squash, Mansfield Mushroom Company & Pete's Greens cauliflower are local seasonal vegetables. Middlebury Coop has a wonderful bonus crop from Elmer Farm, their highly sought-after fall fennel. The White River Coop has a wide selection of winter squash from farms in the Upper Valley region.
Each of these farms provides a rich selection of seasonal abundance for produce buyers up & down the state to purchase.
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A seasonally appropriate display with le Elmer Farm's legendary November fennel.
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Micro Greens from OmniPotent fill the shelves at the Upper Valley Coop
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Pro Tip: One Size Does Not Fit all
Stores are saving labor & packaging supply dollars by pre-bagging bulk items. Think dried fruit, nuts, & even produce.
Buyers are working hard to get products that can translate to value-shopping. There is a balancing act to consider though: being mindful that shoppers are more & more cautious with their dollars as the non-food holiday gift giving will cut into everyday necessities.
Though you are looking for efficiency, you may be losing out on sales. If pretty much all your pre-bagged are the same price, they are not fitting the needs of all your shoppers. This is especially true with things like nuts. Now it is baking season. Nut sales are strong. But are your bags too big? Are you selling $18-$24 bags of nuts but no $5-$10 bags? With all products across the board high, you might be making it hard to shop by limiting your size ranges. Yes, folks want to save money, but they are also being judicious about how much they are spending to meet their needs.
At SORO Market, they are one of the few Produce teams that still bags up local greens. They offer several price points which they see as advantageous. They regularly offer “family value sized packages” to accommodate gatherings while also offering smaller sizes. Prebagged sizes of Little Leaf Lettuce grown in Massachusetts helps SORO create a favorable product mix.
By providing a range, they are meeting their customers' needs & balancing labor & margin in the department through their decision process.
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The Holiday Season is all about warming foods. Lucky for us in Vermont & the surrounding area there is an abundance of produce, dairy, baked goods, & meat, including winter brisket.
Think about all the baking that takes place this time of year. Butter. Cream. Flour. Each has peak sales opportunity.
Product placement matters & keeping VT products at eye level enhances visibility providing VT brands premium product placement. We have a great selection of butter & cheese to choose from in Vermont. At SORO the cheese case has a nice mixture of well-presented cheese & "cheese adjacent" accompanying products including the delicious Morrell Mountain Fruit Farm fruit pate which is a shout out to effective cross merchandising.
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Merchandising Tips: Cheese Case
Choose a white under-liner for the cheese case as it makes a sharp look that screams "clean & sanitary" in the cheese case. They have done that at SORO & the case looks fabulous
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Tip # 2 friendly, engaged & dedicated staff
Lynne, the cheese monger, orders, receives, cuts, wraps & displays fine cheese at the Upper Valley Coop. She sources DSD from area producers & from her preferred cheese distributor Provisions International. As a monger, she speaks "cheese" with a passion that helps generate sales with a healthy department margin. One of her tips is to provide small portions to arouse interest or as a snack or "just enough" for a recipe such as for a Brussels Sprouts Slaw salad.
By having her station at the cheese counter, she interacts directly with shoppers encouraging questions & expanding awareness to recently onboarded varieties or promoting "short-run" sales. Her attitude is so upbeat & engaging- it is no wonder her sales & margin keep increasing!
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Producer Buyer Forum: Connecting
Blake Hill Preserves, known for their "sweet, savory, & spicy jams" are sold across the state & deep into New England & beyond. They have worked with Rival Brands to refresh their packaging & visibility.
At the recent Producer Buyer Distributor Forum hosted in early November, the Blake Hill rep met with the Associated Buyers rep to have a one-on-one meeting. They took full advantage of the Forum to catch up & talk shop. AB prides itself as a distributor working with local companies while balancing national & international brands. They diligently work to include local brands into the holiday catalog to amplify awareness of individual products, & brands.
White River Coop has an end cap featuring seasonal Blake Hill preserves for homemade pies, including mincemeat, while at the Middlebury Coop, they are all about promoting blueberry pie! Both stores see the value in creating timely & topical end caps with a seasonal approach.
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Winter Tune-Up in the NEK
Refrigeration is always on, which is why it consumes up to 50% of the energy in a typical grocery store. Investing in energy-efficient equipment & controls can lower your utility bills keeping food fresher longer.
White Market in St J is partnering with Efficiency Vermont to switch out coolers from open-case to closed doors for their dairy section. This will save on their electricity bills. Get more out of your existing equipment with some important low- & no-cost fixes & services offered from EV.
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Distributors: Pricing & Availability
With both companies relying on a mixture of local, regional, & national suppliers the tension builds in the decision tree when there is a national shortage of a crop.
Our current scenario: availability drops, prices rise, & the great balancing act begins; how much to bring in, how to juggle margin adjustments, how fast will it sell, how buyers respond. When prices rise at the field level or shipping level, distributors must make quick response decisions that are in anticipation of their customers: store buyers in our case. When inflated prices are at their peak, as they are now (& across the spectrum we have the highest corporate profit in 70 years) stores have a similar decision tree as the distributors.
Of course, each shopper has their own unique set of decisions too. That is why buyers bringing products to store shelves have a highly impactful & challenging job. Understanding all the factors is a shell game on some days. Right now, it is the INSV pathogen affecting the shipment of lettuce. But remember all the ships stuck in San Diego? The lack of drivers picking up meat in Iowa? All these play into the cards in a buyers' hand. Oh, & let us not forget the current pending railroad strike which will be another form of upheaval (which will affect freight across all product & supply categories).
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Hey Hey Hey, It's the Holidays!
Throughout Vermont, winter & seasonal store displays are in place & their online sales are ready for the gift giving season.
Putney General has a second floor devoted to holiday sales rounding out the shopping experience in this historic location. Meanwhile up in Greenville, Willey's Store has everything from a full hardware department to top of line winter clothing & boots along with the full slate of groceries that includes a wealth of local products.
Down in the Stratton ski area, freshly cut trees from local suppliers are sold at stores. Locals & visitors stop in at West River Provisions for a taste of the local culture, amazing baked goodies, & everything needed including gorgeous local trees to decorate for Christmas. Dog River Farm, wholesale growers with a farm store & CSA located in Berlin, augment their December produce sales with their own farm-grown trees which helps carry their cash flow into the early winter months.
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Community Engagement
help fund temporary housing for those in need. While supplies last, all
trees are $50 with all proceeds benefiting COTS. For each tree sold, City Market will plant a tree in a partnership with the Intervale Center. It’s a win-win for the community & our environment.
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Farmers Did you Know?
Through UVM Extension, Ag Engineer Chris Callahan has loads of resources for on-farm efficiencies. Among the many is a podcast series that covers a wide range of topics produced by The Farmer's Share. It is a behind-the-scenes visit with farmers sharing what it takes to be a produce grower embracing people, profits & our planet.
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Maple Wind Farm knows the adage "every time you handle a case, it costs you money". That is why efficiency for on-farm pick up of Thanksgiving turkey is an extreme sport!
Their pasture raised birds are cared for with attention to detail from the grasses they feed from hatch through to pickup at every level. They are grateful for their key turkey walkin organizer, Abbie for her skills in handling the boxes as efficiently as humanly possible. The farm knows firsthand that profitability requires efficiency throughout the entire process of rearing through to the delivery of products to its loyal customers.
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Meat Processing:
Keep Your Eyes Peeled!
More than $200 million in grant money is flowing to meat & poultry processing facilities nationwide, as part of the Biden-Harris administration’s push to strengthen the nation’s food system & boost job creation in rural America.
Here in Vermont, USDA & Working Lands grants are moving the needle on increased processing, job training, & expansion of meat sales within VT & the NE region. These grants are helping producers access new market channels through increased efficiencies in what has been an under-invested sector.
The nation’s reliance on meat processing plants came into sharp focus in the early days of the coronavirus crisis, when the disease forced temporary closures of facilities that can produce enough meat in a day to feed millions. Money supporting Vermont upgrades came through the USDA from the American Rescue Plan. Higley Hill Slaughter & processing facility in Wilmington received $75,000 & the Vermont Livestock & Slaughter Processing Company in Ferrisburg received $1.5 million in grants towards its expansion to generate a more dynamic future for small scale meat producers to process & store product. These investment grants aim to increase supply, create jobs that support our ag economy, spark new opportunities for farmers, & bolster the regional food supply chain. Catch more of the story from VT Public here.
“A lot of folks are trying to utilize the good land that we have here, & what that land produces, so they’re providing a good quality product & they can be proud of it. And that’s kind of where I’m at with… I want to be able to help that.” -Carl Cushing, Vermont Livestock Slaughter and Processing Company
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In case you didn't know
Vermont’s Weights and Measures Program coordinates inspection & testing of devices & products in commerce, such as scales & scanners used in retail & farm stores. Questions pertaining to the Weights & Measures Program should be directed to our State Metrologist at 802-828-2433
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Attention Food Manufacturers
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Think Regional
Represent your food business for networking at these two events: The Ski Vermont Specialty Food Tour. Find all the details here!
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Small Bites comes to you via USDA & High Meadows grants. Content is created for farmers, food manufacturers, distributors, grocers to increase VT food sales
Contact: Annie H Harlow
Unless otherwise noted, photo credits are from company social media, websites or Annie Harlow
All info is subject to change; thank you to all who contributed to this issue
Special thanks to Electra Shea
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