Pennsylvania’s Giant Eagle augments its global produce buying strategy with local and regional produce, when it is in season.
“What we’ve found is that our customers associate in-season produce with peak freshness, better value and environmental consciousness,” says Craig Ignatz, Giant Eagle VP of produce. “No matter where it’s from – a local farm or the far side of the globe – we ask ourselves the same questions, every day: How fast can we get it to our customers, and how fresh can it be?”
Purchasing produce at its seasonal peak is more popular than ever, and better retailers are responding to the seasonal trend, according to the ethnographic research division at the Hartman Group, Bellevue, Wash.
Giant Eagle begins with government standards for safe produce handling and has a fleet of 225 temperature-controlled tractor trailers.
“From original source to a local Giant Eagle store, the freshest produce is always on the move, around the clock, from wherever it’s best,” Ignatz says.
Giant Eagle sources millions of pounds of fresh produce to stores each year. Annually, Giant Eagle customers consume 56 million pounds of bananas, 11 million pounds of strawberries, 17 million ears of corn and nearly 17 million pounds of Idaho potatoes.
“Every fruit and vegetable has its own special time of year when it just tastes better, juicier, sweeter,” Ignatz says. “We partner with the most reputable growers in order to deliver fruits and vegetables to our customers at the height of their flavor.”
Giant Eagle has taken numerous steps to educate consumers on which fruits and vegetables are at their peak season throughout the year. It’s also created a multimedia video at www.gianteagle.com/fresh/produce.
Founded in 1931, Giant Eagle Inc. operates 170 corporate and 58 independently owned supermarkets, in addition to 162 fuel and convenience stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland.
Source: Progressive Grocer
