Index: Commodities Update: Pg. 3-5 Add/Delete Sheet: Pg. 6-7

10295 Toebben Drive Independence, KY 41051 PRODUCE TALK Volume 28 Issue 39 September 28, 2017

What We Can Expect in October Whether you’re ready or not, from a produce department sense it’s fall. By now, your department should be set for “fall” selling, decorated with corn shocks, fall squash and plenty of pumpkins for sale. With the transition from summer selling to fall selling, you’re probably finding sales are distinctly lower than the previous few months. Your goal is to retain as many sales as possible. Fall is a beautiful time of the year for the produce department and offers many opportunities to capture sales and create a beautiful fall image and atmosphere for the entire store. The Merchandising Themes that we have to work with this month are Columbus Day, National Month, World Series Fever, Boss’s Day/Sweetest Day and Halloween. Needless to say, are a key mover this month. Augment you displays with apple dips, apple chips, apple wraps, caramel & candy apples, walnut meats, pistachio and . For Columbus Day - Columbus Day commemorates Italian navigator Christopher Columbus landing in the New World on Oct 12, 1492. In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared it a federal public holiday. You can offer your customers “The World of Variety” and display different varieties from around the world. For National Apple Month, you can build the biggest apple display ever. Carry a full variety, offer large size bags and samples of all the varieties along with . For World Series Fever, you can build large displays of peanuts, cashews, pistachios, party and fruit trays, pre-cut fruit, pre-cut veggies and dips. For Bosses Day/Sweetest Day, you can make up your mind that you’re really going to sell some roses by setting up a tent outside in an area that you can get some “drive through” business and sell not only roses, but bouquets, balloons and arrangements. For Halloween, really go all out! Decorate with straw, corn stalks, hard squash, painted pumpkins, Jack-o-lantern pumpkins and orange and black streamers. Promote candy, apples, cider and caramel & candy apples, set up a bobbing station where kids can win a prize and have all of your employees dress up and really have a good time. Halloween, some say is the biggest time of the year for parties. Be sure to check your order guide close for party type items that make for extra sales. Check the internet for Halloween recipes and post them next to your pumpkin, cider and displays. Here is what you need to do in October – Talk to your store owner or manager about building displays up front and in other places in the store. Here are some examples:  Build a large display of gallon apple cider in the front of the store with doughnuts, fresh baked cookies and tie in bagged apples.  Build a large display of jack-o-lantern pumpkins with fall squash, mini, painted and pie pumpkins. www.crosset.com Good Selling!!  Move your candy up front by the registers; you’ll be amazed at how much you will sell.  Pick a great spot where everyone comes into the store will see it.  Build a baking bar. Display everything your customers will need to buy for their holiday baking needs and capture all those extra sales.  Building a big display up front with all the new crop apples, and cross-merchandise apple dips and caramel and candy apples, and apple chips will capture extra sales.  Cross-merchandise mini carrots with roasts and mushrooms next to steaks in the meat case.  Return the favor by displaying bacon next to your head lettuce and ham chunks next to your cabbage display.  In the center aisle of the meat department build a cooking vegetable display of baking potatoes, large tomatoes and sweet onions.  You can build a banana display in the cereal aisle, which will sell more cereal and bananas.  In your floral department, don’t just get into the floral business for “Bosses Day/Sweetest Day”, you need to be promoting floral every day. The only way you’re going to build consistent floral sales is by being in the floral business year round. Boss’s Day/Sweetest Day/Halloween is a great opportunity to sell a tremendous amount of floral. For Boss’s Day you need to remind your customers since Boss’s Day is on Sunday this year, they need to take their Boss’s Day gift to work on Friday, Saturday or Monday. For Sweetest Day, you need a good plan that will include extra help to get things prepared ahead. One very important factor will be to write a good order and keep those records for next year. For Halloween you need to really promote. Contact your Crosset merchandiser for ideas to assist you into having a great October. October is traditionally the slowest month of the year for product. You will have to keep your department fresh, clean and well merchandised to enhance your customers to buy. With all these different ideas you will have plenty of opportunities to go for sales. Remember produce sales are 60% impulse and the quality of fresh produce is the #1 reason a customer shops at a store.

Recipe (Source: Allrecipes.com) CHICKEN POT PIE Ingredients: 1 pound skinless, boneless 1/3 cup all-purpose flour Chicken breast halves – cubed 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup sliced carrots 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1 cup frozen green peas 1/4 teaspoon celery seed 1/2 cup sliced celery 1 3/4 cups chicken broth 1/3 cup butter 2/3 cup milk 1/3 cup chopped onion 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.) 2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside. 3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside. 4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape. 5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. www.crosset.com Good Selling!! Western Vegetables AVOCADOS: Organic avocados are extremely tight right now. Prices will remain high until mid-October when the New Mexican crop starts. BROCCOLI: The market is extremely tight as availability is very light out west. The heat from a few weeks ago pulled product forward and caused quality issues in the field. Since crown material has been scarcer than bunch, we have fully shifted into Michigan product. These have shown great quality with abundant volume. CAULIFLOWER: Volumes have dropped as product has pulled forward the past few weeks. The extreme warm weather we experienced a few weeks ago caused quality issues in the field. Quality issues are expected to continue as warmer than average temps hit this week as well. CELERY: The celery market remains somewhat depressed. Industry is still tight as yields have been affected due to quality issues. It is projected to increase as fields from the warm temperatures in the south move towards more moderate temperatures in the north. As we approach closer to Thanksgiving, volumes are projected to increase to correspond with demand. GREEN ONIONS: Product continues to be extremely tight as fields continue to recover from flooding a couple weeks ago. LETTUCE: The mixed leaf market remains steady. Romaine and Romaine heart numbers have begun to decrease due to quality issues in the field. Red leaf numbers have dropped as we are seeing daily prorates. Green leaf and Butter numbers remain strong. Value-Added Raw product issues caused by the extreme heat in the western U.S. growing areas continues to cause prorates and shortages. Organic Girl has temporarily stopped production of Butter Salad due to the poor quality of the raw product. They estimate new fields should be ready to harvest in 3-4 weeks. Organic arugula and baby spinach have been in short supply due to the heat and downy mildew spreading through the growing areas. Southern Vegetables BEANS: Good supplies from Michael’s; will go to about October 15th, weather permitting. CABBAGE: Good supplies; will go to November 10th. CORN: Supplies and prices have dropped off due to lack of demand. CUCUMBERS, EGGPLANTS, YELLOW & ZUCHINNI SQUASH: Market has increased drastically over the last 4-5 days due to cool nights. GREENS: Good supplies on collard, mustard and kale. ONIONS: Western onion markets are steady; supplies are good. Imported sweet onion from Peru is starting to become available. PEPPERS: Good supplies out of California. POTATOES: Russet supplies continue to grow. Markets are mostly steady; quality is improving. Organics BEETS: Beets still remain a challenge due to curly top virus that impacts the plant leaves and bulb. Supplies will be limited for a few more weeks until growers move to lower elevation new fields that should be clean. BROCCOLI: Due to weather issues (heat) in growing regions in the west, we are seeing suppliers limit available supply driving market cost up. There will be discoloration to the tops as heat will cause a darker head on the broccoli. BUNCH CARROTS: Supply is available, though due to high temps, we are seeing discoloration to the tops of the product. www.crosset.com Good Selling!! CABBAGE: Regional supply has really come on from Ohio and other surrounding areas. Great time for promotion! CAULIFLOWER: Supplies are starting to improve and the quality is good. Market has gradually decreased; high temperatures out west should not affect supply. CELERY: Supply is getting better as we have moved up in to California product starting out. Pricing has come down and it’s getting promotable. CUCUMBERS: Supply is extremely limited! Western supply has not been available and most product in the southeast has been affected by the various weather issues. GREEN PEPPERS: Steady supplies regionally with good quality. KALES: Great supplies of kale currently; plenty of regional product from all over the Midwest available. We are sourcing from North Carolina, Ohio and other regions. Product is in great supply and pricing is very promotable. LETTUCES: The inbound quality we are seeing out west is showing russet and leaf mildew. We are sourcing as much from Canada as possible due to better quality. Iceberg lettuce will be a struggle as supply is not meeting good arrival. RADISHES: Supplies are improving with better quality tops. Very little damage now to the tops and they look much cleaner than they have been. YELLOW SQUASH & ZUCCHINI: Supply has been very good out of Ohio on the zucchini with yellow being much more limited. Asparagus Market remains firm with supply shortages affected from hurricane Irma still limiting volume; should improve over the end of this week and into next week. Looking at better volume and better pricing as we go into October as southern Peru will kick in. Steadier supply of organic asparagus now shipping out of Mexico; strong market.

Fruit APPLES & PEARS: New Crop Washington apples are starting to roll in new varieties will be added each week. Looks to be a good crop this year with the volume being in 80 size and smaller. New crop Washington are now available. Adding new varieties weekly, check your catalog. Michigan Honeycrisp are now available and the fruit is beautiful. New Crop Washington pears are starting; crop outlook is good this year. BLACKBERRIES: Weak quality out of California as recent stretch of extreme heat has caused shortage and quality issues; price firm, as supplies out of Mexico and Guatemala keeping berries in the system. Organic blackberries jumped significantly with little overall supplies available due to main production is out of California. BLUEBERRIES: Starting to make the transition in the next couple of weeks to Argentina. Pricing will go up slightly and then come back down as that volume builds. Organics are definitely tightening up and the prices have jumped dramatically. CANTALOUPES & HONEYDEWS: Domestic cantaloupe and honeydew pricing is a promotable level. CITRUS: Imported navels are still available. Quality on the navels is very good. Western grapefruit is in very short supply. Imported grapefruit is finished. Florida citrus took a big hit form hurricane Irma; fruit loss is estimated at 30-40%. CLEMENTINES: Good steady volume continuing out of Southern America; 2# and 3# bags predominated retail pack. FIGS: Good supply on both Brown Turkey and Black Mission. Quality has been iffy recently because of the heat but improving as heat has eased and back into more normal conditions. www.crosset.com Good Selling!! GRAPES: Good volume on Reds; transferring into Crimsons and other late season red varieties. Holidays still scheduled to load next week and on order guides for the week of October 2nd. Green seedless moving into newer late varieties and should see improved quality going forward. Organics are still in good volume into October. POMEGRANATES: Pomegranate season has been slow to start out but should start to see more volume; the heat has affected the coloring to the pomegranate so harvest has been reduced. Still picking early Wonderful’s; full Wonderful variety wont’ start until around second week of October. RASPBERRIES: Like strawberries, we are starting to see supply affected by the higher temperature. STRAWBERRIES: With the increased temperatures in growing regions, we are starting to see loading and available supply slow down. Inbound quality will be an issue as with higher temperatures will bring increased bruising and sun-scold. Stone Fruit California stone fruit season is coming to close on some varieties. Nectarines coming off guides for this coming week. Plums are getting scarce, with Red plum slated to wrap up in October and Black Angelo will run through late fall to cap off the season. Some varieties of Pluots have finished but still available are the reds, and Dapple Dandy’s. Organic peaches and nectarines remain in good supply out of Washington State. Tropical Fruit BABY FRENCH BEANS: Good volume. KIWI: Organic kiwi is in a transition period. The New Zealand deal is over. Chilean fruit is available but supplies are spotty; will remain that way until Italy begins. LIMES: Prices have firmed up and increased on some sizes with better demand this week. Size 200 and large remained limited. Overall quality is very nice. MANGOES: Organic mangos will go into a short two to three week gap beginning in October. We will see relief toward the end of October. MARIDOL PAPAYAS/ GOLD PAPAYAS: Market moved upward. SUGAR SNAP PEAS/SNO PEAS: Strong markets out Guatemala.

Merchandising Tips There are a couple of times each year a produce manager should evaluate their produce team, and now is the perfect time. You, as the produce manager, need to view yourself as the coach or mentor of your team. Take the time to think back when you were a young produce worker and remember that someone took you under their wing. They saw something special in you and new with the proper coaching you could be great one day. You, as the coach or mentor, need to define your expectations for the team and for each worker. Remember that as a coach, you need to train your employees; and as a mentor, you need to guide them. This way they can better understand your expectations for them. Next, be sure and follow through with each team worker to make sure that they understand what is expected of them. If they are having problems, then work side-by- side with them. This will give them a better understanding of your expectations. If you think back to your coach or mentor, that person did the same thing to you. Spending a little time now to coach or mentor your team will pay big dividends as you get into the upcoming holidays. Think of it this way, produce comes from seeds. You were once a seed that someone nourished and guided into what you are today. You have matured now and you need to nurture and guide the new seeds of the produce department. Hopefully with the proper coaching and mentoring one or more will mature. Then they will go out and repeat the process that you have instilled in them for the next generation of produce managers.

www.crosset.com Good Selling!!

CROSSET NEW ITEM & DELETION SHEET W/B: 10/8/17

ITEM # NEW ITEMS SIZE 21817 OG Delicata Squash 35# 21003 Og Carnival Squash 35# 75568 Tomato Beef OG 12/4ct 111118 Blueberry Muffin Mix 12/13oz 61171 Natural Pineapple Slices 12/4oz 61172 Natural Pineapple Wedges 12/4oz 63037 Diced Citron 12/4oz 63031 Diced Lemon Peel 12/4oz 63041 Diced Orange Peel 12/4oz 63035 Red Cherries 12/8oz 63034 Green Cherries 12/8oz 63028 Fruit Cake Mix 12/16oz 63044 Fruit Cake Mix 12/8oz 63042 Red Cherries 12/4oz 63043 Green Cherries 12/4oz 27841 Black Walnuts 18/8oz 38529 22# OG Red Pear 22# 38041 OG Danjou Pear 40# 34250 3# Apple Michigan 12/3# 34155 3# Apple Michigan 12/3# 33451 OG Gold Del Apple 40# 35120 3# Apple Michigan 12/3# 34230 3# Jonathon Apple Michigan 12/3# 33830 3# Rome Apple Michigan 12/3# 34130 3# Red Del Apple Michigan 12/3# 28441 38# Red Del Apple Michigan 38# 33718 38# Apple Michigan 38# 34273 OG Jonagold Apple 40# 28430 125 CT Red Del Apple Michigan 38#

www.crosset.com Good Selling!! DELETIONS 20808 OG Rainbow Carrots 24/2# 20835 OG Rainbow Carrots 25# 79685 Og Bok Choy 35# 79690 Og Bok Choy 15# 3759 Og Head Lettuce 12ct 28720 Peanuts Indians 18/12oz 103558 Zeaty Ranch Drsng 6/10oz 66031 Cranberries Dried 12/6oz 66033 Dried Blueberries 12/3oz 68064 Dried Cherries 12/5oz 38218 OG Asian Pear 18 31070 Rave Apple 40# 28930 Gold Del Apple WXF 12/3# 33770 Gala Apple WXF 12/3# 34720 3# Apple 12/3# 89080 OG Potato baby red 24/2# 39027 Cara Cara Navel 33# 3790 Living Greens - Baby Romaine 6ct 3791 Living Greens - Italian 6ct 3792 Living Greens - Spring Mix 6ct 3793 Living Greens -Swt Butter 6ct 3794 Living Greens -Upland Cress 6ct 69010 Cotton Candy Grapes 16# 71249 White Flesh Peaches 18# 72023 White Flesh Nectarines 18# 73535 Black pluots 16# 38540 27# RED PEAR 37#

www.crosset.com Good Selling!!