Spotlight on the Perishables Team

The Perishables Department at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, which includes dairy and frozen products, is an integral part of our mission here because it has the highest volume of local sales of any department and an amazing team steering it towards that accomplishment every day. 

The department consists of: Grocery Manager, Rob L.; Perishables Buyer, Bren R.; and three clerks, Jordan, Jesse, and Hugh. In addition to overseeing all departments in Grocery, Rob manages Bren, Jordan, Jesse, and Hugh. He says the people part of his job is made particularly easy by this well-seasoned, hard-working team. Everyone on the crew has a wealth of life and professional experience (Rob has 30 years of co-op experience under his belt!) or has transitioned from other careers. The overwhelming consensus is that people stay in this department because it provides the space to learn, grow, and thrive. 

Bren, who just celebrated eight years at the Co-op, is the heart of the Perishables Department. He consults with Rob about big-picture goals, like allotting more space for dairy in the coolers, but due to his tenure and expertise in the field, he is in charge of all daily operations and buying decisions for the department. This is no easy feat as Perishables, and particularly dairy, consists of the fastest moving products in the store. Bren has to accurately predict customer buying patterns in order to keep the coolers as stocked as possible with the least amount of waste. He orders product, maintains stock, and watches all of those expiration dates, while continuously researching new, quality products to bring into the store. He is committed to featuring as many local products as possible and was nothing short of a hero to our community during the Great Egg Shortage. We had an entire cooler full of local eggs of all kinds at that time. 

When speaking with Bren, it’s clear that he is deeply passionate and knowledgeable about all of the products he brings in. Taking a tour of the Perishables Department with him is an educational adventure that makes you view food differently. He has inside information on what makes each product especially good or interesting, turning the coolers into an absolute treasure trove of goodies rather than just an assortment of frozen food. 

Bren also eats a largely plant-based diet and knows what it’s like to search for those products while grocery shopping. It really is a great benefit having a buyer who has a vested interest in advocating for shoppers with a variety of dietary needs. Part of this advocacy involves opening up sales channels for products that might not be available everywhere. For example, Bren was able to bring Boston Vegan, a particularly tasty and sustainable brand of plant-based burgers and meat-alternative products, into the store, which made the products accessible to other co-ops in the region. We have trailblazers here and we are so proud of that! 

Bren also works hard to keep our variety of gluten-free items as robust as possible. While he was explaining this, a customer exclaimed, “I love your gluten-free breads!!” Those moments of directly experiencing a positive consumer response impact judicious buying decisions 

As mentioned above, future plans for the Perishables Department include expanding the dairy section, which will make an even wider array of local milk, yogurt, and other products available to Co-op shoppers. Our milk selection is already around 25% local, but this is an instance of more being better! See you in the dairy section!