Four Seasons' Brian Dey Spotlights Renewed Strong Growth in Organic Produce

This summer, Brian Dey, senior merchandiser and natural stores coordinator for Four Seasons Produce, will celebrate 25 years with the Ephrata, Pennsylvania-based produce distributor. Calling it an “amazing company with amazing people, leadership, and vision for the future,” Dey told OPN he couldn’t be happier to have Four Seasons as his employment home. A passionate proponent of the health and sustainability benefits of organic produce, Dey said that despite pressures including inflation and a changing climate, the organic produce industry is “doing great overall and will continue to grow and thrive as the years go on.” OPN recently caught up with him for a chat about organic produce trends, merchandising tips, how to boost organic sales, and more.

Brian Dey, Senior Merchandiser and Natural Stores Coordinator, Four Seasons Produce

What does your position as senior merchandiser and natural stores coordinator entail?
My job responsibilities basically involve anything produce retail. This includes setting up and designing new store produce departments, doing remodels, resetting departments, training retail produce staff, building displays, and creating produce theater (read: high-impact, high-drama merchandising). I also work closely with Four Seasons’ sales and buying teams as well as our vendor partners to set up and help create exciting sales and merchandising opportunities for our customers to execute at the store level.

What types of retailers do you work with?
My customer base mostly consists of natural food stores, organic stores, and food co-ops in New England, Western New York, the mid-Atlantic, North Carolina, and Tennessee. A few store groupings that I work closely with are NCG (National Co+op Grocers), INFRA (Independent Natural Foods Retailer Association), and MOM’s Organic Markets. I also have a few independent retailers that I work with closely as well.

What trends have you noticed in organic produce over the last year or several years?
I think tropical fruit has seen a huge bump from where it was years ago and is now a very strong category in the produce department. We have already seen what avocado sales have become, and I see the same trends happening with mangos, dragon fruit, kiwi, and other exotic and tropical fruit. Mushrooms are another category that has seen growth and consumer interest, especially in more exotic varieties like Lion’s Mane and Maitake.

I also think we will continue to see strong growth in the organic value-added categories and offerings. Consumers’ time, now more than ever, is at a premium, and they are looking for convenience. As companies continue to evolve with consumer trends and offer new items, flavors, and lines, they will create new sales opportunities in this area.

"Tropical fruit has seen a huge bump from where it was years ago and is now a very strong category in the produce department." - Brian Dey

With the help of organizations like Fair Trade USA, Equal Exchange, and Equifruit, there’s been an increase in consumer awareness about Fair Trade and its importance. While not everything Fair Trade is organic, of course, the mission behind what it supports caters to the organic customer. Other organizations such as the Equitable Food Initiative (EFI) certify and promote socially responsibly grown product, keeping farmworkers in better working environments and creating opportunities for them. EFI does a great job with marketing and letting consumers know what it does and why buying socially responsible food is important.

How has inflation affected the organic produce trade from what you’ve seen?
Inflation has had an impact on organic produce sales, especially in 2022 and a good portion of 2023. At the onset, we saw stores and consumers gravitate to conventionally grown offerings in a lot of areas and in certain commodities.

The biggest change was in the demographic of consumers who prefer to buy organic produce but are not lifestyle organic produce shoppers. Consumers’ dollars have been and continue to be stretched, and with the rising costs of food and packaging, shoppers still want to eat healthy but might not be able to afford an organic option, so they’ve opted for conventional, which did put a dent into overall organic produce sales.

I personally have stores within my group, which were exclusively organic before, that started to offer conventional options when pricing for certain organic items was too high for their budgets. And while there was some skepticism about how their customers would react to them offering conventional items, it was well received without any resistance from the customer base.

The end of 2023 and now into 2024, however, we have seen a strong bounce back in our business in the organic space, and it is showing in stores. Those stores I referred to above continue to offer conventional deal opportunities when available since they have captured that customer that does not purchase organic all of the time. However, the core business of organic produce sales is showing strength once again. I believe we will start to see even stronger growth as we move further into 2024 and beyond.

"I also think we will continue to see strong growth in the organic value-added categories and offerings. Consumers’ time, now more than ever, is at a premium, and they are looking for convenience." - Brian Dey

You’re well-known as a master merchandiser! Are there any organic produce merchandising tips you’d like to share for late spring/early summer?
Grilling, spring and summer snacking, and picnics are the norm of this season, so set up your department for success around these types of themes. Having the right items for these activities and a good variety of product is important for sales growth.

I really want to emphasize variety as it is super important for both sales and image. Be sure to carry full offerings of commodities within a category. For instance, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries should all be offerings in your berry sections. Spring and summer are also great times for adding larger packs to sets as well—for example, 18-oz blueberries and 2-lb strawberries are easy items to add into the mix and offer both convenience for customers and a bigger ring for your department.

The organic melon category will soon be coming on strong, so consider offering a good mix of melons in a little melon patch. Vestibule and outdoor merchandising are great spots for creating impact with seasonal product like melons as well as some of the hardier seasonal veg items.

"Grilling, spring and summer snacking, and picnics are the norm of this season, so set up your department for success around these types of themes. Having the right items for these activities and a good variety of product is important for sales growth." - Brian Dey

What are your best tips for retailers looking to boost organic produce sales?
A couple things come to mind here. For hybrid stores, who carry both conventionally grown and organic produce, be sure to offer a good variety of organic produce and keep sections fresh. If you are using the integration method (offering organic product next to conventional), always be sure to follow correct organic receiving, handling, and merchandising practices to keep the integrity of organic product intact. Another good way for stores like this to boost organic sales is to offer staple items that are priced comparably as only organic (rather than twin lining both conventional and organic). Some commodities to do this with are carrots, mushrooms, and clamshell salads, to name a few. These are great items and tonnage categories to carry as only organic to introduce new consumers to organic produce.

Along with the above, I would say you will get a good boost of sales through promotions, strategic merchandising, and creating impact and produce theater. Remember, creative displays will produce a fun atmosphere for customers to shop in, and with great seasonal sales promotions tying it all together, it sets the stage perfectly for sales growth.

Another excellent way to boost sales is through cross merchandising to increase both the produce department and overall total store sales. Grouping seasonal commodities together is a great opportunity to build the customers’ basket size. Basil, tomatoes, garlic, and avocados are all wonderful ingredients for a tomato salad or topping for crostini bread. Bringing over olive oils, pasta, and sauces and placing them by your asparagus or artichoke displays is a great idea for a meal suggestion for your customers. Lemons by seafood sections, mushrooms and onions by your meat case, and mangos in your ethnic and dairy aisle—these are all great ways to offer consumers ideas and increase your produce sales in the process.

"Grouping seasonal commodities together is a great opportunity to build the customers’ basket size." - Brian Dey

Do you think consumers have begun to pay more attention to specific growers or brands when it comes to organic produce? In other words, are they more interested in the stories behind the farms that are growing their food?
I would say absolutely. Consumers are looking at brands/labels/companies now more than ever and for a variety of reasons. They want to know who is growing their produce, how they operate as a company, what they might be doing for sustainability, and how they treat their farmworkers. I do think there is some brand recognition and preference on the conventional side as well, but in the case of organic, for many consumers, the company they are purchasing from is more important than the price that they pay. Organic shoppers will pay more knowing they are buying from a reputable company with good people and growing practices.

"In the case of organic, for many consumers, the company they are purchasing from is more important than the price that they pay. Organic shoppers will pay more knowing they are buying from a reputable company with good people and growing practices." - Brian Dey

A lot of companies are doing an amazing job at telling their stories via boxes or packaging, QR codes for consumers to scan to learn about their farms, and some really great content-rich websites. Homegrown Organic Farms and Crespo Organic are two companies that come to mind as examples of excellent storytelling. It has been awesome to see that there is now so much information available at consumers’ fingertips.