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The Produce Retail Podcast

The Produce Retail Podcast is the place for thought leaders in the industry to talk shop. Join us for conversations on strategy, business partnerships, planning, training, leadership, communication, merchandising and much more. We'll have regular guests as well as more occasional visitors, and the goal is always to deliver conversations that inform, inspire and ultimately illuminate opportunities for growth. This podcast is hosted by Ashley Nickle, produce industry enthusiast and founder and CEO of Ashley Nickle Growth Strategies.

Kevin Climie, senior director of produce, floral and bulk foods at Fortinos, on store checks, new items, holidays and more

35 mins; April 02, 2026

Food City produce operations supervisor Skylar Leonard

42 mins; March 25, 2026

The way to better bananas — Deep dive on banana ripening with Dennis Kihlstadius and Gary Campisi

69 hours 5 mins; March 18, 2026

Former H-E-B floral director and 2023 IFPA Floral Marketer of the Year Erin Esensee and floral retail veteran Jennie Kellerman Garbarek on the importance of timeline in floral

12 mins; November 20, 2025

Chick-fil-A Supply's Clark Roper talks intentional leadership, investing in young team members, and lessons from his retail days

47 mins; November 06, 2025

Anne-Marie Roerink talks about the diverging trajectories of fruit and veg; millennial spending power; the influence of picky kids on purchasing; and more

52 mins; October 06, 2025

Karli Nelson of the Supermarket Floral Ad Roundup + floral guru Jennie Garbarek

47 mins; September 25, 2025

Town & Country Market produce manager Tim Deubner

41 mins; September 12, 2025

Tony Mirack, director of produce, floral and salad bar at McCaffrey’s Food Markets

70 hours 38 mins; September 08, 2025

Marc Goldman, produce director at Morton Williams

41 mins; September 03, 2025

VP of fresh foods Rick Stein on FMI's State of Fresh Foods report

55 mins; August 26, 2025

Retail veterans (and former colleagues) Justin Heffernan, Jake Rupert and Jennie Garbarek talk collaboration between produce and floral

61 hours 25 mins; July 23, 2025

Produce manager Ryan Vann, regional supervisor Jason Riggs, and VP of produce operations Mike Roberts of Harps Food Stores

26 mins; July 01, 2025

Stop & Shop's Nadia Pregoni, Bayview Flowers' Stuart Vanstaalduinen, and Tessa's Jennie Garbarek

57 mins; June 25, 2025

GiGi Busch, floral merchandiser turned content creator, Busch’s Fresh Food Market

46 mins; June 05, 2025

Bob Veilleux, vice president of produce and floral operations at Vallarta Supermarkets

48 mins; May 08, 2025

H-E-B's Stacy Bates, Kroger's Laura Brown, Schnucks' Allison Primo — Retail Dietitian Roundtable

52 mins; April 29, 2025

The Fresh Market produce manager Dan Weis and store manager Michael Gillespie

48 mins; April 24, 2025

Industry veteran Blaine Heilman on transition from individual contributor to team leader

59 mins; April 07, 2025

United Supermarkets business director of floral Bradley Gaines and Tessacorp's Jennie Garbarek

50 mins; March 31, 2025

Online produce shopping and AI in grocery retail with Brian Numainville of The Feedback Group

57 mins; March 24, 2025

Greenhouse commodities deep dive with Matt Quiring of Nature Fresh Farms

49 mins; March 04, 2025

Schnucks floral director Michael Schrader and floral retail veteran Jennie Garbarek

59 mins; February 25, 2025

Ed Keefe, executive director of produce, floral and bakery merchandising and operations for Eickhoff ShopRite Supermarkets

71 hours 44 mins; February 20, 2025

Dave Dunkak on negotiation

78 hours 49 mins; February 07, 2025

Avocado and mango category deep dive with Jennifer Anazawa of Mission Produce

40 mins; January 24, 2025

Floral retail veteran Jennie Garbarek on all things Valentine's Day

72 hours 0 mins; January 14, 2025

Amanda Oren, VP of industry strategy for grocery at RELEX, talks Kroger-Albertsons, competing with discounters, prepared foods, private label, inflation and more

57 mins; November 26, 2024

Anne-Marie Roerink on consumer trends, loyalty, holidays, TikTok, merchandising and more

45 mins; November 19, 2024

Berry category deep dive with Nicole Grant and Rose Palacios of Driscoll's

55 mins; November 07, 2024

Produce manager Chris O’Brien, regional fresh sales manager Anthony Deni, and director of produce and floral Chris Keetch of The Giant Co.

32 mins; October 21, 2024

Deep dive on category reviews with Associated Food Stores director of produce and floral Leigh Vaughn

6 mins; October 15, 2024

Sprouts Farmers Market produce directors Daniel Spivey and Reyna Graves

56 mins; October 08, 2024

Schnucks produce manager Aaron Carroll, produce sales merchandiser Meghan Hauck, and vice president of produce Mike Tipton

36 mins; October 03, 2024

Tops Markets produce manager Brad Franklin and produce and floral field specialist Cole Bickal

20 mins; September 26, 2024

Corner Market produce manager Bishop Tart, plus supervisor Josh Smith and vice president of sales and marketing Price Mabry

24 mins; September 12, 2024

Longtime produce retail exec Scott Schuette discusses how to distribute decision-making between corporate and store level

56 mins; August 14, 2024

Anne-Marie Roerink, principal of 210 Analytics, on what produce can learn from the growth happening in deli

35 mins; August 07, 2024

Category management deep dive with Brendan Haslam of Bolthouse Fresh Foods

35 mins; July 30, 2024

Produce manager Alicia Lewis, merchandiser Mike Harrington and VP Mike Roberts of Harps Food Stores

35 mins; June 25, 2024

Associated Food Stores director of produce and floral Leigh Vaughn

39 mins; June 10, 2024

Former Walmart produce exec Dorn Wenninger talks indoor ag, data and more

58 mins; June 06, 2024

Director of produce and floral Lou Rotell of El Rio Grande Latin Market on the world's largest fruit display

37 mins; May 20, 2024

Merchandising veterans Jose Cartamil and Tom Foss of Carlson AirFlo

61 hours 27 mins; May 07, 2024

A shout-out to produce managers plus the origin story of Love Your Produce Manager Day

32 mins; April 11, 2024

Laura Brown of Kroger, Melanie Taylor of Harmons, Yvette Waters of Raley's — Retail Dietitian Roundtable

54 mins; March 26, 2024

Anne-Marie Roerink talks packaged produce, value-added, generational trends and more

44 mins; March 19, 2024

Produce retail veteran Dan Weis talks leadership, department resets, career highlights and more

45 mins; March 12, 2024

Claudia St. John on improving retention, reducing turnover, career pathing and more — State of the Produce Manager Series

48 mins; March 05, 2024

Dave Dunkak on accountability, communication and priorities as a manager

58 mins; February 27, 2024

Veteran produce director Josh Padilla on forced distributions, merchandising and options, labor and more

50 mins; February 20, 2024

Getting your team to buy in — Wendy McManus on the power of finding the purpose in your work — State of the Produce Manager Series

26 mins; February 13, 2024

Dave Mitchell on career pathing — State of the Produce Manager Series

49 mins; February 06, 2024

Merchandiser/broker/consultant Scott Horner on labor and customer service — State of the Produce Manager Series

41 mins; January 29, 2024

Behind the scenes of the flourishing floral departments of Fortinos

25 mins; January 22, 2024

Produce manager and buyer Donovan Jackson of Seed to Table

49 mins; January 16, 2024

Harps VP of produce operations Mike Roberts on supporting produce managers — State of the Produce Manager Series

25 mins; January 08, 2024

2023 Highlights from the Leadership & Training Playlist

45 mins; January 04, 2024

2023 Highlights from the Produce Manager Perspective Playlist

25 mins; December 29, 2023

2023 Highlights from the Merchandising & Marketing Playlist

29 mins; December 21, 2023

2023 Highlights from the Executive Perspective Playlist

34 mins; December 13, 2023

All things fixtures with Alco's Jack Sjogren

26 mins; November 29, 2023

Cody Masters on flavor, innovation and opportunities for produce

53 mins; November 16, 2023

Schnucks VP of produce and floral Mike Tipton talks local, new pilot program, digital shelf tags

28 mins; November 10, 2023

Strack & Van Til's Mitch Harris and Andy Muller

15 mins; October 24, 2023

Bonus episode: IFPA retail tour and the value of store visits

6 mins; October 18, 2023

Scott Schuette breaks down the underrated opportunity of sampling

57 mins; October 17, 2023

Anne-Marie Roerink talks consumer trends, produce merchandising and marketing

50 mins; October 13, 2023

Josh Padilla, director of produce for Marketplace Bermuda

44 mins; October 06, 2023

Rubinette Produce Market's Josh Alsberg on assortment, local farms and being an ambassador for produce

49 mins; September 29, 2023

Fortinos senior director of produce and floral Kevin Climie talks new items, assortment, career and more

36 mins; September 19, 2023

Challenging the traditional wisdom on pricing and promotion — Circana's Jonna Parker

46 mins; September 13, 2023

The Produce Manager Survey — Introduction

4 mins; September 07, 2023

Haggen's Laura Marquand and Brent Chambers

20 mins; August 29, 2023

Scott Schuette on leveraging traffic patterns, meal mindset in merchandising

49 mins; August 22, 2023

The Feedback Group's Brian Numainville talks produce and online grocery baskets

24 mins; August 15, 2023

Diane Scalisi of Driscoll's, Danelle Huber of CMI Orchards and Ashley Pigo of RPE talk omnichannel marketing and the rise of retail media networks

82 hours 38 mins; August 10, 2023

Circana's Jonna Parker talks branding and differentiation in produce and retail

49 mins; August 01, 2023

Scott Schuette on cheese and produce pairings, cheese promotions to leverage, and more

45 mins; July 25, 2023

Tops Markets' Chris DeMarie and Jeff Cady

30 mins; July 18, 2023

Albertsons national VP of produce Shawn Peery talks store visits, social media and sharing success stories

20 mins; July 11, 2023

Food City's Skylar Leonard and Travis Jones plus local grower Tony Slaughter

39 mins; July 07, 2023

Special Series with Scott Schuette: Part 5 — Ashley's Picks

51 mins; June 29, 2023

Hy-Vee's Greg Kimmel and John Griesenbrock

25 mins; June 27, 2023

Special Series with Scott Schuette: Part 4 — Assortment

19 mins; June 22, 2023

Corner Market's Olin Williams and Price Mabry

22 mins; June 20, 2023

Special Series with Scott Schuette: Part 3 — Cross-merchandising

19 mins; June 15, 2023

The Giant Company's Breanna Norris and Alan Carcifi

21 mins; June 13, 2023

Special Series with Scott Schuette: Part 2 — Pricing Inspiration

17 mins; June 08, 2023

Dave's Markets produce specialist Roberto Bolivar on merchandising, inventory and more

36 mins; June 06, 2023

Special Series with Scott Schuette: Part 1 — Signage Inspiration

14 mins; June 01, 2023

Produce retail veterans Chris Blackwood, Harold Carroll and Stephen Daly with Military Produce Group

35 mins; May 30, 2023

Ashley Finster talks data, category management, category captains and more

41 mins; May 24, 2023

Rouses vice president of fresh James Breuhl on Louisiana strawberries, new Hi Foodie campaign and more

26 mins; May 16, 2023

Award-winning produce manager John Truncale and merchandising expert Brian Dey

55 mins; May 09, 2023

Fresh Thyme assistant director of produce Jesse Himango on category management, new product launches and more

38 mins; May 02, 2023

Armand Lobato on managing when stores are understaffed

58 mins; April 25, 2023

Mike O'Brien on people management and mental toughness

54 mins; April 18, 2023

Anne-Marie Roerink of 210 Analytics talks berry category, promotional activity, digital engagement

14 mins; April 11, 2023

Brian Dey on time management in the produce department

27 mins; April 04, 2023

The Produce Retail Podcast

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