ROBINA Fruit Market George and Tsambica Manettas, the husband and wife behind one of the Gold Coast best greengrocers, have been awarded the Brisbane Produce Market Retailer of the Month for August.
Each member of the Manettas family takes on certain responsibilities.
Tsambica is in control of marketing, handling display, customer service, point-of-sale and promotions for their two stores. George makes the return trip to the Brisbane Produce Market every day and walks the Rocklea trading floor to select the best fruit and vegetables for his customers.
“I have been in the fruit and veg business for over 20 years and we currently own both the Robina store at the Town Centre and Earth Markets at The Pines, he said.
“Whatever we do we know that quality produce, display and customer service will always be the keys to success.
Tsambica splits her time between Robina Fruit Market and Earth Markets, but allocates a lot of energy to new marketing ideas, promotions and strategies to compete against the bigger chains.
“We have developed a website which provides a great online presence for us and the e-newsletter enables us to get seasonal information and recipe suggestions directly to our customers, she said.
“We also get involved in letterbox drops, coupon promotions and competitions.
The Fresh Tastes program is designed to reward and encourage excellence in fresh produce retailing.
The winner of the Fresh Tastes Retailer of the Month receives a $1000 to use promotionally within the store.
Participating fruit and vegetable retailers are mystery-shopped twice throughout the year in a bid to determine businesses that excel in areas such as customer service, quality produce, product knowledge, shop appearance and merchandising.
More than 140 independent fruit and vegetable retailers participate in the Fresh Tastes program.
Brisbane Markets Limited Chief Executive Officer Andrew Young said the Fresh Tastes program meant customers were the winners, with greengrocers like Robina Fruit Market offered support to develop their staff customer service skills and their ability to supply the highest quality fruit and vegetables.
“By being part of the Fresh Tastes program our retailers demonstrate their commitment to excellence in produce, service and continual
improvement, which means a great shopping experience for their customers” said Mr Young.
Robina Fruit Market is located in shop 167-191 Robina Town Centre and is open seven days a week.
From Fresh Retailing: