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TOP10®

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Tim’s Top 10Merchandising Tipsby t im pe terson

JUNE

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Gear up quickly and expand Soft Fruit, Cherries, Grapes,

Watermelon (whole and cuts), Blueberries, Corn, Strawberries,

Variety Berries, Athena Melons and Cantaloupe, Fresh Cut Fruit

and Vegetables and Green Beans. Push for sales with Vidalia Onions,

Asparagus, Pineapples, Oranges, Apples, Pears, Salads (and

related items), Colored Peppers, Tomatoes, B-Reds, and Potatoes.

It’s graduation season, so encourage your customers to enjoy the

taste and convenience of TasteBuds Fresh Cut Fruit and Vegetables.

Congratulations class of 2016!

grillers, kabobs, seasoned vegetables, and fresh salsas: Summer's here and we've got the perfect items for grilling and snacking. Made fresh daily, we have nine Grillers Items, Kabobs,18 Seasoned Vegetables, and 10 fresh Salsas and Guacamole offerings. Ask your salesperson for the details. These display well on their own, or tied in with Fresh Cut Vegetable sections.washington cherries: Push sales now! Don't get caught long, markets will drop and quality will improve. Merchandise next to Grapes. Washington started early this year and are expecting a compressed season, which may last only five to six weeks.soft fruit: Good quality, with larger sizing and lower markets—so expand here. Make sure to include Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, Plums and White Flesh. Don’t get caught long; markets will continue to drop. Also available are single layer Peaches and Nectarines. Soft fruit displays best on its own on non-refrigerated tables. (Remember the “killing zone” is from 36 to 50 degrees.) If possible, tie-in Kiwi, Mangoes, and Pears during the early season!

Expands:

Push for SALES:

pint blueberries (conventional and organic): Expand your displays to equal the size of Strawberries. These display great on their own, or tied in with Berries of all varieties.grapes (conventional and organic): Good quality, with markets dropping, so expand your displays. Remain tight on backstock, both quality and markets should continue to improve weekly. Displays should remain up front, in a lead rack position. Organic Grapes are now in stock - make sure to cut these in.whole watermelon: Expand your displays; peak sales are here! Display these on their own or tied in with varietal Melons or Sweet Corn. cut watermelon, party platters, cut fruit & vegetables: Sales pick up with Graduations and parties; so expand your displays of Cut Melons by at least four times their winter size. To save labor, try our fresh Cut and Wrapped Watermelon, available in halves and quarters. Display these up front near your Cut Fruit sections. Make sure you’re selling fresh Cut Fruit, Cut Vegetables and Party Platters.

fresh sweet corn and high impulse vegetables: Remain aggressive with your displays! To maximize sales, tray-up at least half of Corn and bag up most Beans; you’ll sell more! Display with Asparagus, Green Beans and Sugar Snaps (bag up the majority), Vidalia Onions, new crop B-Red Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts (bag up the majority), Colored Peppers and Artichokes. Merchandise them up front in a high traffic area.cantaloupes, athena melons, personsonal size water-melon, honeydews, and variety melons: Good supplies and quality—so push for sales now! Expand Athena Melons, and Cantaloupe, and move to a table display through summer. Try a bin of Personal Size Watermelon and display alongside Honeydew and Pineapple!strawberries and variety berries (conventional and organic): Supplies are good! Now is a perfect time to promote! Make sure to tie-in Pint Blueberries, Raspberries, and Blackberries. Displays should be up front, in a lead rack position. Don't forget about Organics!

Think BIGGER than BIG! Now through Labor Day is your busiest time of the year!

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For the freshest fruits and vegetables, insights,news and buys, contact yourH. Brooks salesperson now!tel 651-635-0126fax 651-746-2210

About H. Brooks and Company…H. Brooks was founded more than 100 years ago. Then, a produce cart served as its corporate headquarters. Today, while the size of the companyhas changed dramatically—its reputation as a friend and advisor with the unfailing abilityto seek out and deliver unique, best available field-fresh produce has not. And never will.

H. Brooks and Company . 600 Lakeview Point Drive . New Brighton, Minnesota 55112 . www.hbrooks.com

Buyers’

Top10cantaloupes and honeydew: We’re now stocking fruit from the U.S. and Mexico! Quality and supplies continue to be excellent—and pricing is stable. It’s a great time to promote.grapes: Just in! Fresh Grapes from Mexico and Southern California! Expect a plentiful and delicious supply of Red, Green and Black Grapes. Add extra drama to displays with Red Globe Grapes! soft fruit: California Apricots, Nectarines, Peaches and Plums are going strong and quality is outstanding. Markets have dropped and sizing has improved dramatically. Washington Cherries have arrived. Supplies are increasing and markets are starting to ease. Quality is excellent. strawberries: The market should remain steady over the next week. With weather conditions looking ideal for Berries, expect good ad volume availability for the next few weeks. Also make sure and add 2lb Strawberries to the mix.

organic produce: Organic supplies continue to be very tight for Spinach and spring items; quality is challenging. Expect continued cuts and prorates on Organic Salads.cukes, peppers & local product: The market for HH Peppers and Tomatoes from Canada is steady. Nogales is almost finished and we’ll be sourcing from Southern California. Grape Tomato supplies are improving. Florida/Georgia Corn is looking and tasting great! We have started with local Green Top Radishes and will soon have local Kale!citrus: We are currently bagging California Navels in 6/5# and 7/4# Bags. We are also stocking 56-72-88 and 113ct Bulk Navels. The California Navel Season looks like it could go all the way through June; with Import Citrus arriving in late June. Organic Citrus (Grapefruit, Lemons and Oranges) are all in stock. We are now transitioning into Organic Valencias for the summer months.blueberries, blackberries and raspberries: We’re offering super-fresh Pint Blueberries from both coasts right now! It’s time to expand your Blueberry displays. Blackberry pricing will start to increase in the next couple of weeks due to Mexico finishing up for the season. Driscoll Raspberry supplies continue to improve with generous quantities projected in coming weeks. We are also stocking Golden Raspberries while they are available.west coast veg: Lettuce and Leaf supplies are improving. Cooler temperatures continue to slow Broccoli and Cauliflower growth; creating the current supply shortage. onions, potatoes and sweet potatoes: ONIONS: “Sweet D” California Onions are here! And don’t forget to look for our newest feature; 40# Cartons of Jumbo Reds, White and Yellow Onions! All are high quality, stickered and uniformly sized. POTATOES: Try our new crop Prem (Jumbo Size) 50# boxes of Red and White/Yellow Potatoes. Quality is superb! SWEET POTATOES: Markets and supplies are steady.

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