United Fresh Names Retail Produce Manager Award Honorees

Marking its 13th year of recognizing exceptional retail produce managers, United Fresh Produce Association has announced the honorees of its 2017 Retail Produce Manager Awards Program. The group of 25 produce managers represents supermarket banners, commissaries and independent retail stores from 14 different states and two Canadian provinces. The winners will be the honored guests at the United Fresh 2017 convention, June 13-15 in Chicago.

Sponsored by Dole Food Co., the program pays special recognition to produce managers working every day on the front line to increase sales and consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Since the program began in 2005, nearly 300 retail produce managers, representing more than 90 different retail banners, have been honored for their contributions to the industry.

“Produce managers are the face of our industry to the consumer. Their creative merchandising and positive approach to customer service directly correlates to the growth of sales and ultimately consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables,” says United Fresh CEO Tom Stenzel. “We are grateful to Dole for once again sponsoring this program and for their partnership in recognizing these 25 deserving honorees.”  

The 2017 Retail Produce Manager Award Winners are:

“This is Dole’s third year as title sponsor of the United Fresh Produce Manager of the Year Award, and we could not be more proud to be a part of this important recognition program,” says Tim Stejskal, senior vice president of sales for Dole Fresh Vegetables. “These men and women do so much to promote the increased consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, and this gives us an opportunity to recognize that contribution and genuinely say thank you.”

The winners were selected from hundreds of nominations submitted by retailers and produce suppliers across the industry. Nominations were evaluated on several criteria, including efforts to increase produce consumption through excellence in merchandising, special displays and promotions, community service and commitment to customer satisfaction.

All winners, along with their corporate produce directors, will be honored at United Fresh 2017 during the Retail-Foodservice Celebration Dinner on Thursday, June 15, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. In addition to their awards, five Grand Prize recipients will each receive a $1,000 cash prize. 

This year, United Fresh 2017 has developed new programs, United FreshTEC and United FreshMKT, with strategic focus on the attendees’ experience. Together, attendees will find products and solutions that solve their challenges across the entire fresh produce supply chain, offering strategic insights, innovative solutions and new partnerships to take sales and profitability to the next level. Co-located with the International Floriculture Expo and the Global Cold Chain Expo, United FreshTEC Expo and United FreshMKT Expo will bring together retail, fresh produce, floral and cold chain industry leaders.