Mushroom Toolkit
Mushrooms are having a moment. For the last few years, shoppers have had a growing awareness of how mushrooms can help them work towards their overall health and wellness goals. They’re packed with nutrition, and are versatile, tasty and satisfying. Plus, fungi are fascinating!
Harvesting Wisdom: Setting the Stage for Fall
As the days grow shorter and the summer heat gives way to crisp fall air, your produce department is ready for its seasonal transformation.
Merchandise to Make “What’s for Dinner?” Easier
Convenience matters: washed, trimmed, pre-cut, steam-ready and meal-ready options make fresh produce easier to choose and prepare. The opportunity for retailers? Take a little of the thinking out of dinner.
Radicchio & Chicory Toolkit
With shoppers searching your department for the new and novel, the time is right to bring in a rainbow of organic radicchios and chicories. Ubiquitous in Italy, these vibrant, bitter greens have been becoming a popular addition to salad bowls in North America too. The Northwest crop kicks off in October and extends into winter for the perfect opportunity to bring shoppers an exciting alternative to lettuce during cooler months—though these leaves are also at home on the stove.
One Stop Shop for Lunchboxes & Snack Attacks
September means packed lunches, after-school hunger and the daily scramble for something quick everyone will actually eat. With more than half of shoppers looking for healthier choices, fresh produce has plenty of answers for lunchboxes, snack drawers and everything in between. Easy to grab, pack and snack? Produce understands the assignment.
Pear Toolkit
The Northwest pear season has arrived with plenty of showstoppers, from crisp and juicy Asian pears to well-loved varieties like Bartlett and with lesser-known varieties like Forelle soon to come.
Back to Routine Starts in Produce
As summer winds down and life picks up speed, shoppers are getting back to packed lunches, quick breakfasts, after-school snacks and the nightly question: What’s for dinner? That's where the produce department shines.
Fresh, organic produce naturally meets the moment. Peak-season fruits and veggies are flavorful, snackable and ready to work across breakfast, lunch, after-school snacks and weeknight meals. They make eating well feel just a little bit easier, and tastier.
A Bunch Beyond the Basics
September hits the sweet spot for organic grapes. California fruit is still rolling in while Northwest vineyards are hitting their stride, bringing some of the most flavorful and interesting varieties of the year. It’s a great time to go beyond red and green and build a grape display that invites shoppers to discover something new.
Don’t Rush the Season
We get it. September is coming. The coffee shops are rolling out the pumpkin spice lattes, and school is back in session in a few weeks. But for the produce department, there’s still a whole lot of summer left to sell.
Harvesting Wisdom: Crush Summer Sales with Great Grapes
Organic grapes are a staple for retailers nearly year-round, and an item shoppers look for on their weekly visits. Understanding seasonality in this important commodity is key to maximizing sales.
Berry Smart: Balancing Margins & Seasonal Insight to Grow Sales
Berries can and should be the number one category in driving sales, but they can also jeopardize margin performance if you’re not strategic with merchandising, inventory management, and promotions.
Harvesting Wisdom: Jeff Fairchild’s Summer Produce Playbook
With 40 years in produce sourcing and merchandising, and a key influencer of the retail farm-to-table movement in the Northwest, OGC’s Jeff Fairchild is a true expert. His trusted connections with farmers and deep understanding of the supply chain, shopper behavior and effective display, pricing and promotional strategies are invaluable.
Harvesting Wisdom: Unlock the Magic of Melons
Organic melons kick off their season in April/May from Mexico with a limited selection. As harvest moves north to California, two primary regions contribute: the desert offers fruit in June/July, while the Central Valley starts in early June and extends through the fall. The Northwest season begins in mid-July, peaks in early August, and concludes as the weather cools in early September. OGC wraps up the season with a limited offering from Mexico in October and November.
Bring On the Bold Flavor of Asian Greens
Download point of purchase shelf signage so shoppers have also the info they need about these great greens.
Juicy Rewards: Cultivate Loyalty with Stone Fruit
The stone fruit category presents exciting opportunities for your department to stand out by delivering amazing quality and flavor. Sweet success is as simple as selecting the best-eating fruit, understanding seasonality, merchandising appropriately and leveraging the expertise of OGC and our organic grower partners.
Harvesting Wisdom: Margin, Waste and the Art of Produce
Managing a profitable produce department is no easy feat. It’s not just displaying beautiful fruits and veggies and watching them sell. Produce work moves fast. Things change by the hour, and the pace means mistakes large and small happen. The key to success? Carefully managing margin so sales make up for inevitable waste—but that’s a whole lot easier said than done.
Start Spring Off Right
Hit the refresh button with new merchandising, revived promo strategies and a lineup of specialty items that show off the full glory and bounty of the season. Go ahead, have a spring fling with fresh finds from Northwest growers and beyond.
Build a Produce Pot o’ Gold
Eaters celebrate St. Paddy’s Day with some important produce items, and the gold and rainbows of the holiday create fun merchandising opportunities.
Harvesting Wisdom: Planning for December’s Festive Feasts
December is a whirlwind of food traditions, gatherings and parties where produce often steals the show. For produce managers, the goal is clear: keep the department fresh, festive and full of flavor for every celebration.
Harvesting Wisdom: Squeeze the Best Out of Citrus Season
Every season, produce managers and shoppers look forward to the arrival of quintessential fruits. Summer has stone fruits and melons, and eaters know fall has arrived by the steady stream of apples and pears.