Jersey store incorporates plenty of produce choices.

The Saker ShopRite that opened in South Plainfield, NJ, in May has a lot in common with other recently opened stores under the same banner, and that puts the produce section in a unique position.

The integration of produce with other perishables sections is evident in other ShopRite stores, as was the case of the banner in Newark profiled in the February issue of Produce Business.

Saker ShopRite, consisting of 39 supermarkets and a farmers market operation in central New Jersey’s Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset and Mercer counties, takes those integrations a step further, focusing on greater convenience. The company has a strong focus on produce, but it also operates four commissaries, and offers a tremendous volume of convenient meals, entrees and side dishes for its shoppers.

Those foods are featured in a perishable foods area where the central produce section is surrounded by and interspersed with prepared foods, deli and bakery displays in a way that allows shoppers to enter the store and, effectively, plan entire meals with just a turn of the head.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

The 93,000-square-foot store had its grand opening May 8 in Hadley Commons Plaza in South Plainfield, and was the result of a somewhat unusual genesis. Richard Saker, president of Saker ShopRite, Holmdel, NJ, told Produce Business he wanted a supermarket at the site for years, but couldn’t make it happen.

Then, he had an opportunity to buy the shopping center, which he did. Now, it houses the new ShopRite and complementary retailers such as Ocean State Job Lot, Dollar Tree and a Raymour & Flanigan Outle
The location is at a major crossroads, so the supermarket and the other tenant stores have well-trafficked positions.

“For me, it was like a dream come true to get this site,” says Saker. “The advantage for us is we generate a tremendous amount of traffic, and tenants that line up well with supermarkets, and supermarket customers, are very inclined to follow us to these locations.”

Backed by Wakefern Food Corp., Keasbey, NJ, the ShopRite in South Plainfield also offers locally sourced foods and fresh produce and a wide variety of ethnic food, including Southeast Asian specialties, Hispanic favorites, and kosher and halal products to a diverse community.

Saker says ShopRite’s participation in the Wakefern co-op provides the means to keep the flow of produce he needs to satisfy his customers.

“Fresh produce, with all the varieties — and we have buying offices all over the world — is the common denominator,” says Saker. “Every ethnic group wants fresh produce.”

The produce department is critical to serving the community, Saker says, because fruits and vegetables are at the heart of just about every cuisine.

PRODUCE STORESCAPE

The large produce department includes crate-style floor displays that accommodate produce in various configurations on top, with shelving below to merchandise products such as packaged nuts or, in the case of potatoes and onions, mini and gourmet variations.

Other table displays on wheels allow for easy movement to emphasize different items in different ways in different seasons.

The variety is clearly demonstrated in the apple display with several showcased varieties in bulk topped off by bagged product. A large sign above the display spells out the varieties available.

The half-moon shelving in the cold case includes tags that clearly identify each variety. Mushrooms, merchandised in overwrapped trays, get similar treatment with the same-style signage, as do peppers and other commodities.

The store also integrates non-food items to complement the produce on display so shoppers are more likely to find everything they need.

“Our whole mission is to take everyone’s home and turn it into the best restaurant in town,” says Saker. “When I was a kid, I used to do 50 boxes of lettuce, cut and wrap them on a Saturday. Today, I do two boxes of lettuce because everything is in a bag. This is all part of the prepared food generation. And it’s not just a generation.”

The spread of mixed eating — incorporating fresh, prepared and even takeout items consumed at home — was inevitable, and crosses demographic lines, says Saker.

“There’s more money than time,” Saker points out.

Prepared food is more consequential throughout the store. “I make 1,000 fresh food items every day,” he says. “People want to buy fresh salsa. And I do it economically for people.”

NEW PERSPECTIVES

Saker says the convenience trend requires suppliers to continually consider how to provide more products besides commodities, either processed by themselves or in forms that make the retailer’s own processing easier.

What’s more, consumers are putting together meals for family members and even friends who sometimes have radically different food requirements. Saker ShopRite incorporates choices, particularly in produce, that can satisfy the individual requirements consumers have today.

Take organics, for example. The South Plainfield ShopRite has an abundant organic produce section topped off with signage that identifies the product as certified, and explains in some detail what that means.

“That’s what a world class store is all about,” says Saker, “catering to all those needs. They are needs, not necessarily wants.”

In setting high quality standards, consistency is critical, which is one reason why so much of Saker ShopRite’s prepared foods are processed by the company under the supervision of inspectors and quality control experts.

“It’s all about consistency,” he says. “You have to meet people’s expectations and exceed them every day. That way you will build new customers and continue to take care of the customers you have, and drive that top-line sales figure that is so critical in this business.”

FACT FILE

Saker ShopRite
10 Centerville Road, Holmdel, NJ 07733
732-462-4700
www.shoprite.com