Category: Produce Blueprints

It was once felt that robots were too heavy-handed and imprecise to be of benefit to packers and shippers. That was generations ago.

There have been two constants since the dawn of automation: advocates of developing technologies optimistically forecasting that machines will replace human labor, and people within the trade who steadfastly insist it could never happen—at least not broadly.

Trouble loads aren’t much fun. They can be inefficient and frustrating. On the other hand, handling trouble loads is part of buying, selling, and transporting fresh produce. Doing it well limits headaches, waste, and financial losses—and may help preserve valuable business relationships.

Although it has had some negative financial news in recent years and underperformed during the pandemic, Sprouts Farmers Market seems to be turning around with same-store sales growth improving in 2022.

The Fresh Market, Inc. had been on a major expansion streak before putting the brakes on store openings, in part due to increased competition for its higher-end, farmers market-style format.

A small but increasingly mighty retailer to watch is Erewhon Market, which got its start in 1966 when founders Michio and Aveline Kushi, followers of a macrobiotic diet, opened a Boston food stall, then traveled to California.

Hy-Vee, Inc., founded in 1930 and owned by its 93,000 employees, stresses customer service, guided by the slogan, “A Helpful Smile in Every Aisle.”

Redner’s Markets, Inc. is a family- and employee-owned independent grocery retailer in the Mid-Atlantic region that celebrated its 50th year in business in 2020.

Southeastern Grocers, LLC operates stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi under the Winn-Dixie, Fresco y Más, and Harveys Supermarket banners with a reported total of 597 stores. In 2022, it remodeled 51 of its locations and opened 17 liquor stores.

Raley’s Supermarket, with its slogan, “Nourishing Our Communities,” has been focusing on nutrition and sustainability for years in western states, and these attributes have come to the forefront in its new O-N-E Market concept.