What is wrong with this picture? This is a bunch of kale for sale last week at a supermarket. I have a serious problem with  the “merchandising” of this product. I have a problem as a consumer and as a farm business specialist. I’ll give you a hint, think of the 5 P’s of Marketing.  Did you get it? Narrow it down to two P’s….product and price. Trick question right, I did not tell you the price of this product. Stick with me for 2 paragraphs and I give you the answer.

For this case, the definition of merchandising is the act of promoting products for sale in a retail setting . This is the retailer’s grand chance to do what retailers do…present a product to the customer  to make them want to buy it. How is your merchandising? Are you doing a good job getting customers excited to buy your products and then creating a good atmosphere for them to make the final purchase? Remember the 5 P’s of marketing: Product, Price, People, Place and Promotion. Place is covered, I’m already in the store. People: the produce lady smiled at me when I started taking pics of her kale. Promotion: the store sends out flyers and sales updates. Product: Getting warmer….take a close look at this product. Does anyone notice the top of the kale stalk still attached here, about 4 inches worth.  I’ve sold kale before, usually we bunch the leaves. On occasion you’ll see a top cut but here is my problem, Price. They priced this product by the pound. So I am paying for the weight of that 4 inches of kale stalk. I would have preferred to see this product priced by the each, so the consumers that got 5 inches of stalk vs. 3 inches of stalk still got the same value in usable kale.

Call me picky or thrifty, but remember… The customer is always right!