Bristol Farms' Dziedzic Talks Organic Growth

Bristol Farms’ Director of Produce Paul Dziedzic estimates that 75-80 percent of the fresh produce at the 14-store Southern California chain is organic, while its five-store sister banner Lazy Acres Market has a produce department that is approximately 95-percent certified organic.

“All the wet rack [and] most of the apple table and potatoes [are organic]. …We only sell organic onions. … The bananas are organic," Dziedzic (pronounced Deed-zic) said.  

Paul Dziedzic, Director of Produce, Bristol Farms

Dziedzic came to Bristol Farms three years ago after spending four years at Whole Foods in the chain’s Southern California office. He began his produce career at Bel Air Markets in Northern California and then transitioned to Raley’s after that Sacramento chain acquired the Bel Air banner.

Paul Dziedzic estimates that 75-80 percent of the fresh produce at Bristol Farms stores is organic.

He noted that almost his entire retail career has been spent with retailers that have a strong commitment to organic produce. “When I was with Raley’s (in the early 2000s), I was sent to the Nevada Division [and] charged with increasing their organic produce rack from four linear feet to 16 feet. That was a big jump.”

Since he joined Bristol Farms, the chain has further emphasized the organic sector. He said that the company enjoys a great partnership with Melissa’s Produce, so it also has a robust specialty section that features organic offerings. “We really do push organics throughout the department.”

Scott Wiggans, Produce Director, Lazy Acres

Dziedzic and Scott Wiggans, who is the produce director at Lazy Acres, often work together to combine their buying power and help each banner take advantage of specific opportunities with organic produce. Both banners also emphasize locally grown organic produce. “Each of us take a personal interest in the locally grown product,” Dziedzic said, which alleviates some pressure off the day-to-day produce buyers for each chain.  

He said the local organic grower program at Bristol Farms has grown exponentially since he took the helm. “We define local as a two-to-four-hour shipping window from each store.”

Bristol Farms in Yorba Linda, California

As such, the San Diego area store has a different buying radius than the Santa Barbara Bristol Farms. Local growers often deliver directly to the local store. He admitted that Bristol Farms is still learning how to market that local product to the local community. The chain recently hired some marketing experts who are rolling out a new program with a heavy dependency on social media. He also expects in-store signage to improve.

“We define local as a two-to-four-hour shipping window from each store.” -Paul Dziedzic

Dziedzic said sampling is an important part of the customer service culture at Bristol Farms, but that offering has taken a hit during the pandemic as it is basically banned by regulation. “Demos are a great way to sell the customer on new organic items,” he said, adding that the new marketing program is going to include QSR codes on the product to take the consumer to the grower’s farm digitally.

Bristol Farms in Woodland Hills, California

Dziedzic commended the organic produce industry for the great inroads it has made in the more than three decades he has been working retail produce aisles. “A lot of growers have made the switch, and it is much easier to source organics than it ever was before.”

Dziedzic said sampling is an important part of the customer service culture at Bristol Farms, but that offering has taken a hit during the pandemic.

The produce executive said there may be an occasional SKU that his customers want that he cannot get as an organic option—such as brussels sprouts or broccoli rabe. And he also occasionally sources conventional on big sellers to offer his customers a good price point on a promotion. “For example, we might do a big promotion on a popular apple such as a Honey Crisp and carry a conventional option to offer a good price," he said.

Dziedzic believes the organic category will continue to grow and gain even greater market share in traditional mainline supermarkets, and he said that Bristol Farms will get to a 95-percent share in due time. “It’s going that way,” he said. “It’s what the younger generation wants.”