Spotlight on Purchasing and Merchandising

Chris Dubis is a logistics powerhouse and the Purchasing and Merchandising Manager here at the Brattleboro Food Co-op. He is the brains behind the majority of our store’s product mix and layout strategy. Everyone who feels our store is a nice place to be can give a healthy portion of their thanks to Chris (with a huge shoutout to our Housewares Buyer, Taylor, who curates and arranges the beautiful endcaps around the Wellness Department and all the other buyers and employees who collaborate with Chris).

Chris is also a time traveller. He lives about six months in the future, give or take a few weeks. As you are reading this, he is figuratively knee deep in Easter eggs and pastel. Thanksgiving is over. Hanukkah is over. Christmas is over. Valentine’s Day is still happening, but mostly over. He’s already planned for those holidays and moved on to the next. On top of making sure the store is looking good on any given day, he is responsible for most seasonal merchandise, including smaller holidays and local events like the Harris Hill Ski Jump. His work helps ensure that whenever you step into the store you have an engaging and pleasant experience no matter what time of year it is.

What’s it like, making this happen? Not easy. Chris often brings things into the store that are only meant to be on sale for a short time and he has to evaluate the store’s spending on these items very carefully. What do you, our shareholders and community members, want and how much of it do you want? It takes some serious planning to make sure we are creating a lush, relevant, comfortable shopping experience while also making sound financial decisions that honor the investment of those who have become shareholders here. The needs of our community and the health of our Co-op are always top of mind for Chris, even as he is building seltzer castles or choosing the perfect nail polish for holiday gift giving.

Chris has knowledge about so many of the things we carry here at the Co-op because he personally tries each of them before deciding to bring them in. He can often be found sifting through a small mountain of every kind of product sample you can imagine, deciding which of them might be the right fit for our store. One of the most recent winners of the sample showdown? Chocxo Cookie Butter Cups. These are filled with ground speculoos cookies, which are perhaps not a health food, but are certainly delish and certified USDA organic. Chris is also very excited about introducing the full line of WholeSun Wellness mushroom products in our Wellness Department. Stop by to ask about WholeSun because they have really unique sourcing and production processes that result in some of the most high-quality mushroom products on the market. You can read about WholeSun’s Pure Mycelium Extract technique here.

So far you know two very important things about Chris: he is a logistical powerhouse and he is a time traveller. There is a third thing! He is a lifelong co-op enthusiast. Chris grew up going to the Concord Food Co-op in New Hampshire and as a child would daydream about going there to pick out his Amy’s frozen dinners and chocolate rice milk. His interest in natural foods ran so deep that in fifth or sixth grade he did a report on peelu gum, a natural chewing gum made from fibers of the peelu tree rather than plastic. Incidentally, this school report also led to the creation of a core memory of co-op generosity. Chris’ mom wanted to treat him to some peelu gum during one of their treasured trips to the co-op to support his blooming interest in health and wellness. Unfortunately, there was no peelu gum at the co-op that day, but their cashier happened to have some of her own and, seeing Chris’ enthusiasm, offered him some. “That is what I love about co-ops. There’s just such a spirit of generosity and community,” Chris says.

Chris ended up majoring in studio art in college, not imagining a career in co-ops or logistics. After graduating, he moved to Willimantic, CT, just two blocks away from the Willimantic Co-op. He ended up picking up two shifts a week as a dairy stocker there and, since he is an exceptionally driven and creative person, he naturally took on more responsibility over time. He eventually became the Wellness buyer at the Willimantic Food Co-op, which led to him becoming our Wellness Manager. His spirit of growth continued to propel him forward here in Brattleboro, eventually becoming our Purchasing and Merchandising Manager. Chris is a shining example of how co-ops are incredible places to grow personally and professionally. We often promote from within here at our Co-op, so we encourage anyone who is inspired by Chris’ story of career growth to check out our careers page.

Thank you, Chris, for making our store warm, cozy, bright, spooky, or whatever it needs to be!

Written by Sarah Galgano