SAMPLING EVENT AT KROGER ATTRACTS PRODUCE SHOW ATTENDEES

LYNNE MILLER

ATLANTA -- Visitors in town for the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit got a taste of new flavors and products at half a dozen Kroger stores that participated in a high-profile sampling event.

Doraville, Ga.-based Green Team Produce Performers, a food brokerage, and a handful of produce companies represented by Green Team set up the demo stations working with Chefs USA and Kroger.

SN observed a cook preparing stir-fry at a station near the entrance to the produce department of an upscale 75,000-square-foot Kroger in suburban Alpharetta. This particular store, newly remodeled with an 8,000-square-foot produce department, was one of the stops on PMA's "Workshop on Wheels" bus tour. Five other Kroger stores located near the hotels that accommodated convention-goers hosted similar events.

The cook chatted with visitors and customers at the Alpharetta store. The names of the participating produce companies -- Ready Pac, Nature Sweet, Melissa's, T. Marzetti and Monterey Mushrooms -- were listed on her demo station, along with the Kroger name. Take-home recipes and product coupons were available.

This year's Fresh Summit brought more than 15,000 produce industry representatives to Atlanta, and marketers at Green Team saw the additional foot traffic as a good opportunity to showcase new products. It was the first time the brokerage set up an in-store demonstration event to coincide with a food industry trade show, said Kim Barker, sales manager at Green Team, which represents fresh produce and natural food companies. "We did sell product," Barker said. "We could have sold more product if we had more product in the stores. It wasn't our first reason for doing it. We achieved what we sought to do. We got the companies' names out, and got the products out there into customers hands. As a broker, you want the products you represent to shine. You want to call attention to your products to other retailers."

The sampling event at the Alpharetta store ran for six hours on the day of the tour, Nov. 8. At the five other Kroger stores, the demonstration stations were open from 3 to 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 4, and Monday, Nov. 7, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, and Sunday, Nov. 6

"We got good feedback from the companies we represented," said Barker. "It also sparked some competition. Brokers in other markets were, shall we say, a bit jealous that we did something like that in Atlanta. They wanted to take something back to their markets and do the same."