Cinco de Mayo is quickly approaching and a great holiday to promote in produce departments. This week, we chatted with Heather Mallery, the Produce Manager of La Montanita Co-op in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is the first year La Montanita Co-op will run a centric Cinco de Mayo theme throughout the store. Heather shares her plans on how to execute for the upcoming holiday:

• Plan with your Account Manager: Discuss display ideas with your Account Manager. Secure orders for items in your display as early as possible.
• Produce Themed Displays: Plan on featuring items like avocados, limes, jalapenos, zucchini, mangoes, cilantro, and tomatoes. Did you know Cinco de Mayo is the second largest holiday for avocados in the USA? Super Bowl is the biggest! Make sure you build big festive displays with lots of color contrast.
• Recipes: Try incorporating recipe cards or signage explaining all the uses of different produce items and what they pair well with.
• Cross Merchandise: Heather’s produce department plans on designing displays around salsa and guacamole themes. Cross-merchandise produce displays with items like tortilla chips, fancy gourmet salts, or citrus reamers. Coordinate with other departments in your store to see what other cross-merchandising opportunities are available!

Get creative and have fun! Trying out new holiday displays or promotions could turn into annual campaigns your store takes on.

Heather Mallery, Produce Manager of La Montanita Co-op in Santa Fe, New Mexico