How Tops Friendly Markets is meeting shoppers where they are

Produce departments can make or break a store.

The Williamsville, N.Y.-based Tops Friendly Markets gets it. Since 2021, the grocer has invested approximately $40 million a year in a store remodel program focused primarily on delivering what shoppers want from fresh.

“It all begins and ends with the customer,” said Vice President of Produce and Floral Jeff Cady. “It may sound cliche, but being customer-centric is really what drives me.”

As a former produce manager, Cady also understands the day-to-day challenges that face the in-store produce team. This experience informs his leadership.

“My goal has always been to try and make it as easy as possible for the team to execute a remodel, while also making the end result a better shopping experience for the customer,” he said.

When Tops remodels a store, it typically sees an immediate sales lift.

“Right off the bat, the first few weeks after a remodel, you get a lot of people in the store,” Cady said. “You look at the numbers and you see that produce sales were up 46% yesterday — it’s mind-boggling.”

What does today’s consumer want from a produce department remodel?

“For lack of a better term — everything,” Cady said. “We try to serve every customer and address as many of their needs as possible.”

Even with items as straight forward as romaine, Tops keeps the customer top of mind.

“For example, we try make sure that we not only have the different versions of romaine lettuce that the customer wants, but also that it’s displayed properly in the store and that the customer can easily find what they are looking for.”

Giving customers what they want also means staying on trend and being nimble enough to pivot when tastes shift.

“Five years ago, vegetable spirals were all the rage. I’m sure they still are in many locations, but the trend here is a shadow of its former self,” Cady said.

The shift has created space for other convenience items like pre-cut butternut squash and other grab-and-go timesavers for which shoppers are willing to pay a premium.

“It’s really about being in touch with the consumer, understanding their needs and knowing when those needs change,” Cady said. “We adapt quickly. We don’t wait around to give consumers what they want.”

Destination display

While convenience items continue to resonate with Tops’ shoppers, so too do eye-popping displays. This summer, Tops produce departments went head-to-head in a four-week block party-themed competition.

“As we embrace all that summer has to offer, it’s a great opportunity to encourage a little healthy competition among our store teams in the spirit of summer,” Cady said. “During the summer months especially, we know that consumers are naturally thinking about fruits and vegetables. This challenge encourages our associates to remind the community of the importance of getting their five recommended daily servings in a fun and engaging way and maybe even try something new.”

Over the course of the Tops block party, store teams competed in merchandising categories such as Berry Bash, Poolside with Cherries, Watermelon Limbo, and Cornhole with Seedless Grapes.

These bountiful produce displays are more than festive; they’re designed to illicit an emotional response.

“When customers come in, we want them to feel like they’re walking into a neighborhood store — that’s really our mission,” Cady said. “The beautiful thing about Tops is that we give the stores the freedom to be themselves and display the things that make sense for their customer base.”

A multisensory experience

Tops strives to engage all five senses as shoppers navigate the produce aisle and the entire store.

So, if shoppers are looking for peppers, they may see a variety of colorful peppers in the produce department, but they could also see them cross-merchandised in the meat department, where the suggestion of stuffed peppers adds freshness and excitement, Cady said.

And as sampling returns post-COVID, a taste of something delicious also may be in-store.

“Online shopping is great and fulfills a need, but selling in-store is all about the five senses, which we really try to leverage from the moment someone walks into the store,” Cady said. “The last time I smelled my computer screen it did not smell like a fresh peach.”

Coming full circular

While supermarkets increasingly have moved away from paper circulars, on a recent Zoom call with Cady, The Packer noticed a wall of circulars pinned up behind the produce exec’s desk.

Is the paper circular still alive and well at Tops?

“Shoppers are looking for both the in-store and online experience, but the lion’s share of folks are still coming into the brick-and-mortar store to shop Tops Markets,” Cady said. “Have we enhanced our online shopping? Absolutely. And while I think people have traded out some in-store trips for online when they want to buy things like water and pet food, they’re still coming in the store to pick up their produce.

“The paper circular continues to erode, but we know that our go-to-market strategy with circulars is still intact,” Cady continued. “It still works for us today, and it will work for us tomorrow.”

Tops customers want the circular, but perhaps in a digital form.

“With the coupons we used to put [exclusively] in the paper, now you have the ability to click and add them to your bonus card,” he said. “We try to take care of everyone because there are other folks out there — like me — who want a piece of paper. I’m hanging it up there on the wall because I like to see it.”

This balanced approach is all about meeting the customer where they are — and more importantly, where they are on a particular day, Cady says.

“Some days customers may be too busy to go to the store but other days, when they have a little more time, they want to be able to pick out their own fresh produce and other fresh items,” he said.

Related: Tops of the town — The friendly market investing in fresh and community

Organic integration

A few years ago, Tops assessed its organic shopper and determined that integrating its organic and conventional produce created a more fluid shopping experience. Today, most of its stores reflect this assessment.

“If you walk up to the berry section, all of the organic berries are right above the regular berries, so the consumer can make a choice,” Cady said. “We don’t make them chase all over the store. They can make their own decision as to whether they want the organic produce option.”

While Cady says that approximately 90% of its stores offer this organic-conventional integration, the remaining stores favor separation.

“Again, we are your neighborhood store,” Cady said. “We listen to our customers at each location and take care to deliver what they need.”

Local produce also plays a critical role in satisfying customer cravings. Tops works with over 500 farmers between its produce and dairy departments, Cady says.

“With local produce, we’re taking care of the people who come into our stores, the communities we serve and the farmers who are supplying us,” Cady said. “Why wouldn’t we want to be part of that?”

When The Packer sat down with Cady earlier this summer, the grocer had just signed a local flower grower to serve a single store in Orchard Park, N.Y.

“We just brought them in not even two weeks ago, and we’ve already sold out of their bouquets and need more flowers,” said Cady, who adds that Tops supports local farmers through in-store signage and online and paper circulars.

“The core of our business is to be your neighborhood store,” he said. “That’s our mission statement. It’s what we live by, and it’s what sets us apart from a lot of other folks out there.”