SPS features Neil Stern of Bristol Farms, Metropolitan Market and more

PALM DESERT, Calif. — Neil Stern differentiates his five retail banners by fine-tuning his focus on lifestyles and a digital presence. Well, and a few other strategies.

Click here to watch the full 2022 Sustainable Produce Summit On-Demand. 

Stern is CEO of Good Food Holdings, which operates 51 premium and natural and organic supermarkets in Washington, Oregon and California under these grocery banners: Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres Natural Market, Metropolitan Market, New Seasons Market and New Leaf Community Markets.

He was the keynote speaker during a wine and hors d'oeuvres reception at the June 2 Sustainable Produce Summit, held a day before the June 3-4 West Coast Produce Expo.

In Stern's presentation, he shared with the crowd that 43% of respondents said they followed a diet in the past year, according to International Food Information Council Foundation’s 2020 Food and Health Survey — which is up from 38% in 2019. And 58% of consumers ages 18 to 34 said they’ve dieted.

So, it’s no surprise that the company’s virtual cooking classes draw thousands of viewers, especially classes focused on healthy eating.

Each banner has a different personality to suit its clientele, Stern said.

He called Bristol Farms a melding of two celebrity chefs and authors: the late Anthony Bourdain and Alice Waters – outspoken, edgy and classy and highly regarded, respectively. Lazy Acres caters to a lifestyle-driven crowd, and New Leaf really focuses on local.

“Local is a huge part of what we do,” Stern said. “It’s not the most efficient way to do businesses, but it’s important to us.”

The produce departments focus on seasonality, with especially high-intensity, short-duration promotion campaigns. Peach and hatch chili seasons are two examples.

Before joining Good Food Holdings, Stern was a senior partner at McMillanDoolittle, specializing in strategic planning and developing new retail concepts. In his 35-plus-year career, Stern has developed strategies and new concepts for a variety of clients across the retail industry.

Stern is also recognized as a key thought leader in the retail arena, serving as editor of Retail Innovations, an annual global overview on the retail trends, and he is a regular contributor to publications such as Forbes. He is the author of two books, “Winning At Retail” and “Greentailing and Other Revolutions in Retailing.”

New Seasons Market is a Certified B Corporation, which undergoes rigorous audits to ensure sustainable, socially responsible efforts are being made for the benefit of “people, prosperity and planet,” Stern said. “We’re a B Corp, and we mean it. Today’s customers? You can’t fool them.”

In the California stores, produce labeled “local” has to be hyper-local, or local-local, he said. Fresh produce coming from within the state doesn’t impress shoppers. It’s a big state.

“We talk to the local farmer, tell the story, build the story out,” he said.

It’s all about storytelling.

One way to tell the story is with point-of-sale materials and produce displays. Those displays are often created with bulk produce, because it’s more sustainable without packaging. More eye-catching, artistic displays are possible that way, anyway, he said.

Think: A mushroom foraging display. Even a display of Amuseables, a line of produce-themed plush toys, can help.

“I hear if it’s not Instagram-able, it doesn’t matter,” Stern said, although he joked he was a bit incredulous about that assertion.

But social media is the way to tell the story of the company, the produce, the farmer and the sustainable efforts of all.

“How do you connect with customers? It’s a two-way communication,” Stern said, mentioning social media as one example.

The future focus for Good Food Holdings involves three extremes:

• Extreme value: expanding private labels and merchandising analytics and intelligence;
• Extreme convenience: self-service and contactless solutions, plus micro-fulfillment centers; and
• Extreme experience: next-generation store formats.

Related news: These are the winners of Sustainable Produce Summit Marketing Awards