Although the holidays are not quite over, it’s time to plan for the New Year! Expect customers to flood your produce department after the New Year to kick off their new diets, cleanses, juice fasts and resolutions to eat healthier. Here are some things you can do to anticipate needs and provide items your customers will be looking for:

• Fresh-Cut: Offer an abundance of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables to your customers. Many customers will be looking for easier methods of making healthy meals such as pre-diced butternut squash or onions. These are great items to push to new cooks or for customers looking for time-saving options.
• Juicing: Stock up on popular juicing produce items such as apples, citrus, cucumbers, celery, ginger, turmeric, carrots, beets, spinach and kales. The Master Cleanse is a juice cleanse that has gained popularity in recent years. This is a liquid cleanse that consists of fresh squeezed lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. Prepare for high volume on lemons and try cross merchandising jugs of maple syrup and shakers of cayenne close to your lemon display. Celery juice is another very popular health trend that has been seemingly everywhere. Put up recipe and informational cards near popular juicing items.
• Recipes: Newly resolved shoppers are highly receptive to your product suggestions. This is the perfect time of year for have recipes sprinkled throughout the department. Meatless meals that focus on winter squashes, potatoes and mushrooms are great suggestions. Quick, easy smoothie recipes using seasonal produce are a good way to feature specific items. There is really no end of healthy choices to direct customer to in your produce department.
• Citrus: With winter, comes cold and flu season. Citrus is an excellent source of immune-boosting vitamin C. We are in the peak of citrus season, so make sure to provide a great selection of oranges, mandarins and grapefruits so your customers can take preventative measures to stay healthy. Put up educational shelf-talkers on the health benefits of citrus.

This is the best time of year to win over new shoppers. Show off your best customer service skills and impress shoppers with your offerings to retain them for the New Year.