Photos: And the best produce displays are…

Armando Arias of UNFI Produce, Aurora, Colo., wins Best Produce Merchandiser in the 2022 Summer Contest of PMG's Produce Artist Award Series.

The Best Produce Manager winner is Armando Perez, produce team leader at Whole Foods, Playa Vista in Los Angeles, in the 2022 Summer Produce Artist Award Series.

The cherry category is a tie. One winner is Stephen Daly, produce specialist at Military Produce Group, Newport News, Va., plus Virginia Beach and parts of North Carolina, including Fort Lee, Fort Eustis, Little Creek, Langley and Norfolk Naval Operating Base.

The other cherry category winner is Brian Dey, senior merchandiser at Four Seasons Produce, Ephrata, Pa.

The grape category winner is Jonathan Charlton, category merchandiser of UNFI Produce, Logan, N.J.

The winner of the melon category is Hampton Williams, produce specialist at Military Produce Group’s Bragg North, Parris Island, Fort Stewart, Fort Bragg South, Fort Gordon and Charleston Naval Weapons Station locations.

Rigo Vargas, produce merchandiser at Sunset Foods, Highland, Ill., wins the stone fruit category

Ryan Fernandes, produce manager at Longo’s, Southeast Oakville, Ontario, ties for winner in the summer vegetable category.

Stephen Daly, produce specialist at Military Produce Group, is the other winner of the summer vegetable category.

Summer might seem like a distant memory in regions with four seasons, but the top-notch retail artistry of those sweltering months deserves recognition for years to come.

Take some inspiration from the winners of PMG’s 2022 Summer Contest of the Produce Artist Award Series. Produce professionals can use these ideas year round, in any climate.

We asked produce retailers to send us their best displays of cherries, grapes, melons, stone fruit and summer vegetables. And we also asked for your best all-around displays so we could choose the best produce manager and best produce merchandiser.

We utilized the expertise of two judges.

First up is Joe Watson, vice president of retail, foodservice and wholesale for International Fresh Produce Association, and former director of produce for Rouses Markets. He was PMG’s 2014 Produce Retailer of the Year.

And then there’s Armand Lobato, foodservice promotion director of the Idaho Potato Commission and formerly a produce category manager, merchandiser and buyer. He’s also a longtime columnist for The Packer and PMG.

Sage Fruit Co. is PMG's Produce Artist Award Series sponsor.

A message from Sage Fruit Co. for PMG's Summer 2022 merchandising display contest

In two categories, there was a tie. Winners will receive prizes and be featured in print and digital publications. And the winners of the Summer ’22 Contest are:

Cherries

Two contestants tied in this category of short-season sweetness.

Winner No. 1: Stephen Daly, produce specialist at Military Produce Group, Newport News, Va., plus Virginia Beach and parts of North Carolina, including Fort Lee, Fort Eustis, Little Creek, Langley and Norfolk Naval Operating Base.

cherries — Photo: Courtesy of Stephen Daly

Winner No. 2: Brian Dey, senior merchandiser at Four Seasons Produce, Ephrata, Pa.

Judge comments:

“Both displays were outstanding, not only in presentation but the appeal and abundance of product. They screamed, ‘Buy me!’ Both displays also employed cross-merchandising aspects, one using organic and rainier cherries while the other used stone fruit. Both were strong selling displays and captured the seasonality of sweet red cherries.” —Joe Watson

“Stephen Daly had a nice use of orchard bin angle placement, tied in with smaller side fixtures. Good use of holiday, flag cartons or packaging, and several levels are achieved. Brian Dey had a great combo of several cherry packs and nice use of wrapping the display around extra-volatile rainiers in the refrigerated case.” —Armand Lobato

Grapes

Winner: Jonathan Charlton, category merchandiser of UNFI Produce, Logan, N.J.

grape pmg — Photo: Courtesy of Jonathan Charlton

“What I enjoyed about this display, aside from the amazing fruit, was the use of shipper bins. These display aids provide retailers with a great amount of flexibility to come off the main display to create a separate destination. In this example, not only have they achieved that part, but they’re also providing customers with information on the grapes (top right side and bottom middle) display. Communicating with the customer doesn’t always have to be verbal. In fact, static written information is very useful to convey a message to consumers.” —Watson

“This has all elements of a great display: width, depth, height. There’s a nice combo of red and green varieties, great use of shipper [point-of-sale materials] and signage. It’s neat, level and very shoppable.” —Lobato

Melons

Winner: Hampton Williams, produce specialist at Military Produce Group’s Bragg North, Parris Island, Fort Stewart, Fort Bragg South, Fort Gordon and Charleston Naval Weapons Station locations.

watermelon display at supermarket — Photo: Courtesy of Hampton Williams

“It’s simple but nicely displayed with whole and cuts. There’s a creative use of [point-of-sale materials] and a summer theme with lawn chairs, umbrella … there’s an emphasis on what makes the watermelons appeal to customers: sweetness and flavor.” —Lobato

“Summer is for melons! (Watermelons.) Not only has this retailer captured the season, but they also created a huge impulse buy opportunity. This display position looks to be leading into the produce department so no one will miss it, and I doubt few passed it up without buying a cut or whole watermelon. The [point-of-sale material] adds to the messaging and tells a story.” —Watson

Stone Fruit

Winner: Rigo Vargas, produce merchandiser at Sunset Foods, Highland, Ill.

“Stone fruit done well is a differentiator. Not all retailers have a great understanding of how to sell stone fruit. This display does two things:

It attracts customers with amazing color and presentation
The variety provides customers with a multitude of options.

A key to success in selling stone fruit is the ‘depth’ of display. This one looks like it’s two layers deep, which is perfect to maintain freshness and ease of rotation. Replenishment and less handling of stone fruit is a major factor in reducing damage and shrink and providing consumers with a great piece of fruit.” —Watson

“This follows good stone fruit display ‘rules’ of spreading out, but avoids piling, and is NOT refrigerated. I see lots of variety to choose from, good color breaks and great selection in each offering. It’s full, level and fresh.” —Lobato

Related: See the Spring '22 winners.

Summer Vegetables

Our final tie happened in summer vegetables.

Winner No. 1: Ryan Fernandes, produce manager at Longo’s, Southeast Oakville, Ontario.

summer vegetable pmg — Photo: Courtesy of Ryan Fernandes

“The display has a nice farmer’s market look with mini-totes, a good mix of vegetables and color breaks. The canning supplies (jars) message is clear, indicating value for all.” — Lobato

Winner No. 2: Stephen Daly, produce specialist at Military Produce Group.

“His display has a nice, spread-out look, good use of bins and incline tables, stair-stepping up and balanced look. There are great color breaks, it looks easy-to-shop and manageable for stocking and rotation too.” —Lobato

“These are two vastly different presentations, but each is effective. The first one is clearly using the totes and canning supplies to create a message and idea with consumers about how to make summer vegetables last all year long. The second one is using the season to drive purchases for immediate use. Tie-ins with other grilling type vegetable items, and even some fruit, add to the impulse opportunity.” —Watson

And then, there are the final big-two categories.

Best Produce Manager

Winner: Armando Perez, produce team leader at Whole Foods, Playa Vista in Los Angeles.

fruit veg whole foods displays — Photos: Courtesy of Armando Perez

“To borrow my friend Mike O’Brien’s commonly used phrase, ‘hands of gold’ is what comes to mind when I see this department. There is nothing out of place, yet every product is easily shoppable and accessible. The only concern they might have is that some customers may be afraid to shop the beautiful displays. Extremely well-done merchant skills at work here.” —Watson

“The whole department in each photo looks clean, full and detailed. There are clean, vibrant color breaks throughout and overall, a neat, level and very clean look.” —Lobato

Best Produce Merchandiser

Winner: Armando Arias of UNFI Produce, Aurora, Colo.

fruit veg paas winner merchandiser — Photos: Courtesy of Armando Arias

“I see wide, clean displays with a balanced look, great space allocation for key produce items and a nice use of shipper’s cartons in spillover or stand-alone displays. The mango displays are especially well done, with lots of careful stocking evident.” —Lobato

“As I viewed the pictures from this entry, it is apparent that they understand their customer and are using the footprint of the department to claim every opportunity to maximize impulse purchases. Mangos are now the No. 10 selling fruit in the fresh produce category, and with displays such as this one, mangos will likely be moving up the list in years to come. Everywhere my eyes went, I see something to buy, bouncing from one display to another. We used to refer to this kind of display alignment as ‘pushing customers where we want them to go, but gently.’ To me, that perfectly describes this department. Well done indeed.” —Watson

Get your work (or your team’s work) noticed! To enter the 2022 Fall Contest of the Produce Artist Award Series, send to artists@producemarketguide.com six to 10 photos (at least 1 MB) of your apple, hard squash, pear, pumpkin and sweet potato produce displays, plus a couple others, for the chance to win in those categories and/or to win bragging rights as the Best Produce Manager or Best Produce Merchandiser.