Melissa's Tops Chart on Organic Variety

With more than 300 different fresh and dried organic produce SKUs, Los Angeles-based Melissa’s/World Variety Produce Inc. believes it has the largest variety of organic produce sold nationally in the United States.

Robert Schueller, Melissa's/World Variety Produce Inc.

Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa’s, said the company’s offerings stretches from value added items such as steamed red beets and a fresh coconut drink to specialty items such as baby yams and lentils. Also in the mix are staple organic commodities such as zucchini, bell peppers, cucumbers and lemons. In fact, it was the commodity business that put Melissa’s on the organic map almost two decades ago.

Organic Coconuts, Melissa's/World Variety Produce Inc.

 

“We’ve never been known for our commodities, but 17 or 18 years ago when we started selling organics, they were a specialty item,” Schueller said, noting that as such they fit perfectly into the company’s business model. For the first decade, its organic department was dominated by commodity items.

It is the company’s specialty department, however, on which Melissa’s hangs its produce hat, with an organic product line that runs long and deep. In fact, one of the surprises in the top 10 list is ginger. “We are the largest organic ginger grower in the United States,” Schueller said.

The produce veteran said Melissa’s will supply any customer with virtually any organic produce item that is desired. To that end, Melissa’s continually looks for contra seasonal production in an effort to provide these items on a 12-month basis. Schueller admits some organic specialty items are just too expensive for most consumers and don’t draw much of a crowd during their off season. Organic Meyer lemons, for example, are a very good item when they are in season from California in the October to March time frame. “We can get them from New Zealand in the summer but the organic market just isn’t there. But some day that may happen,” he said.

Organic Baby Yams, Melissa's/World Variety Produce Inc.

Melissa’s business model has been to turn specialty items into mainstream items, and that same dynamic can occur with both conventional and organic SKUs. Schuller said traditionally, it happens with the conventional production first. “Look at jackfruit. We have been selling it for 20-plus years but we were only selling a case a week for most of that time. Now we’re selling thousands of cases a week.

“Jackfruit is an expensive item and organic jackfruit has not yet made inroads,” Schueller said, “but Melissa’s will be ready when it happens.”

Schueller has had a front row seat as Melissa’s has increased organic volume over the years and he said the sales gains are nothing less than phenomenal. “When we started, organics represented only one to two percent of retail produce sales,” he said, adding that the company has registered double digit growth in the category every year since. Now the category represents 10 percent of Melissa’s sales on an annual basis.

The firm has employed a strategy of using big bold labels to identify organic product to consumers…and most importantly to checkers at the register. Schueller said shrink in the organic department has always been an issue but it has been shrink caused by an improper ring rather than decay. Often, the only thing that separates a conventional and organic PLU number is the digit “9” at the front end of the number. Organic produce items are usually five digits starting with a 9, while conventional items are four digits starting with a 3 or 4. That’s an easy error for a checker.

Organic Red Beets, Melissa's/World Variety Produce Inc.

“That’s why we have a UPC-based system,” Schueller said, noting that a scanned UPC eliminates those errors and reduces the perception of organic shrink. 

As a specialty supplier of items that can be high priced, Schueller said the twin SKU vs. single SKU debate often takes care of itself. He explained that with an item like green onions the price differential between conventional and organic is typically very small. A retailer can carry just an organic green onion and satisfy all its customers. “That is hard to do with something like blood oranges. The price on organic blood oranges can be double that of conventional. You have to carry both,” he said.