Sometimes you need to break something to build it back stronger. Or, in the case of an entire grocery culture, set it aflame in order to rise from the ashes anew.
Project Phoenix, a pilot program that lives up to its name, has fanned the flames of a transformative call to action for Sobeys-owned FreshCo.
“This was a rebirth in how we approached produce. We took 20 steps backward to understand who we wanted to be, what we wanted to be known for, and the risks that we were willing to take to differentiate ourselves from our competition. Just like a phoenix rising from the ashes,” Amanda Labuckas, Director of Fresh Category Management and Merchandising, shares with a smile.
Understanding the importance of the produce cold chain and that, in many cases, the product travels long distances, FreshCo has focused on enhancing what the customer will purchase, its freshness, its taste, and key seasonality to drive incremental sales.
“Fresh is a constant race of just-in-time, and then when product gets to the store, our teams need to know how to revive and bring it back to life,” Amanda says with resolve.
Selling great produce doesn’t stop there: The fixtures, signage, and ways in which the product is displayed are critical aspects of how produce is reborn. It is a process Amanda has seen and been a part of for over two decades; she knows firsthand that produce execution can make or break consumers’ perception of and loyalty to the store as a whole.
In the rebirth of produce strategy, she saw another opportunity rising from what was—that of FreshCo’s entire produce culture.
“Phoenix is about value, quality, seasonality, and culture. We want to build loyalty through the fresh department, and we are confident that we will, so long as we are hitting each of those targets. A well-executed produce department will drive customer loyalty as well as create a halo effect on the total store,” Amanda points out. “Great produce creates impulse purchases and naturally impacts the total shop—customers will put more in their basket when they see quality produce at great prices! It is the most important department from a customer perspective, and you will win or lose the total shop based on the appearance and quality of that department.”
Launched in 2020, the tenets that are the tinder to the initiative’s flame—value, quality, seasonality, and culture—are really steps to one foundational mission in pursuit of loyalty. First in fresh produce, then store-wide.
“This was a rebirth in how we approached produce. We took 20 steps backward to understand who we wanted to be, what we wanted to be known for, and the risks that we were willing to take to differentiate ourselves from our competition. Just like a phoenix rising from the ashes.”
Amanda Labuckas, Director of Fresh Category Management and Merchandising, Sobeys’ FreshCo
“Value doesn’t mean the lowest price,” Amanda points out right off the bat. “As a discount banner, historically we’d focus on price almost entirely. We have evolved to best value as we have learned so much on this journey.”
Exploring what value specifically meant to FreshCo’s customers and stakeholders, boiling it down to an attainable concept, then building a strategy around it, helped crystallize Project Phoenix and provide a guiding torch for the rest of the pieces that would build its foundation.
“We had an opportunity to improve the experience in our stores in the produce department by shifting our whole mentality,” Amanda recalls. “Understanding what value means to our key stakeholders, our customers, began with reviewing the sizing of product we want to sell in our stores, matching that with what we could provide at great prices and with quality. That created value.”
So, of course, quality is key. Setting that expectation—good product at an affordable price does not mean the cheapest option—with the sourcing and buying team, as well as communication of expectations with suppliers, has made for a customized and capable formula for value that Project Phoenix can execute.
“Understanding our strategy, understanding how important it is to ship to the specification, and how that equates with the value proposition that FreshCo has established, is critical,” Amanda explains. “That’s what’s going to sell. People will buy with their eyes in produce like no other department. If it offers value and is of great quality, they will 100 percent put it in their basket and pay that price at the register.”
As anyone in our industry knows, a crucial part of that quality is seasonality. But, Amanda points out, it’s not just knowing and showing the season’s offerings—it’s celebrating them.
“At FreshCo, we had the same items in the same spots throughout the whole year. We had little change, and we knew we had to shift that mentality and how we approached in-store produce merchandising. The impulse shop and the value offered is heightened when we merchandise seasonally relevant items in a prime location of the department at the key selling time of the year. Stonefruit is a great example: Understanding the peak time frame to sell and putting that category front and center creates excitement and demonstrates that our FreshCo stores are proud of the quality and value they can offer on these key seasonal items. Customers are looking for peaches and nectarines in the summer months, and we are passionate about how important it is to focus on leveraging the seasonality of these items, bringing them to life with great displays. Now, we have our stores changing what those departments look like at least four times a year,” she reflects. “Seasonality now plays a big part in what is front and center and, when merchandised the right way, we can compete with a structure that defies the typical discount structure.”
"[Produce] is the most important department from a customer perspective, and you will win or lose the total shop based on the appearance and quality of that department.”
A crucial thread tying all these components together is the final, and arguably most pivotal, change Project Phoenix has demanded. Throughout our discussion, Amanda speaks to training, leadership, team mentality, and the actions of employees in the field and on the floor.
“None of what we are trying to do will be accomplished if we don’t have the right culture,” she impresses upon me. “We had to look at and refine our store processes from what we perceived as value and where we placed seasonal items to how our teammates order and handle product.”
Project Phoenix called for a radical shift in cultural mentality from the top down in a franchised structure—an enormous undertaking made grander still under the proximity restrictions of COVID-19.
“This was about inspiring the passion for produce in franchisees by helping them understand the halo effect the produce department would have on their total store. And that was just the beginning. Then, how do we take those principles and make sure they work their way through the rest of the store?” Amanda reflects.
Part of that produce culture enhancement was a unified vision throughout FreshCo. To ensure all leaders were spreading the same message, so every single individual in the organization might buy into the produce-focused vision.
“We needed to build a produce-first culture. We have a lot of franchisees that were typically grocery managers in their pasts, with no produce experience. So we needed to not only educate the teammates, the part-time staff, and the department managers in our stores, but we had to build a produce-first culture with our franchisees,” she says. “We set the expectation that, in the produce department, the customer that comes in at 9:00 p.m. is going to have the same shopping experience as the customer that comes in at 9:00 a.m.”
This transformation is no small shift, nor is it static. Whether it’s an ember or an inferno, the fire for this produce-first culture needs constant tending. One way the FreshCo team is doing this is through recognition of those championing Project Phoenix.
“We started celebrating Produce Ambassadors. Each of our districts can nominate either a produce manager, a part-time clerk, a franchisee, an assistant produce manager…anyone with a story of how they support the culture change that we’re trying to bring to life. We have found that this really means something to team members, to be recognized,” Amanda shares with me.
“Project Phoenix at its core is about total fresh. It started with produce, but our ultimate goal is to be leaders in total fresh from a discount perspective. We can’t take our foot off the gas.”
It’s a wonderful incentive, and one Amanda says perpetuates another cultural shift she’d like to see industry-wide. “We have to stop and celebrate the wins. There are great examples of people bringing this to life every day. There’s greatness in something that everyone does, and I’ve learned over the years that the littlest recognition from one side can have a huge impact on another. And I think that’s pretty cool.”
The true foundational shift that brought Amanda and the FreshCo team to this point is a perfect demonstration of the idea’s magnitude. In just three years, the driving force behind one of the largest grocery divisions in Canada has evolved to illuminate fresh. Now, Amanda says it is spreading beyond the produce department.
“Project Phoenix at its core is about total fresh. It started with produce, but our ultimate goal is to be leaders in total fresh from a discount perspective. We can’t take our foot off the gas,” she says with a grin. “What does meat look like for discounters? What does total fresh look like? Now, we’re taking Phoenix and some of the things that we’ve built into it and bringing that into the meat department. Next, we’ll touch bakery, and we’ll touch deli.”
Once a rebirth for discount produce, Project Phoenix is now spreading its wings and fanning the flames of all fresh. 
