The National Mango Board (NMB) named Wynn Peterson and Gary Campisi of Walmart the 2016 Mango Retailers of the Year. The award was announced during the NMB’s Annual Mango Industry Reception on October 16, 2016, during PMA’s Fresh Summit Convention & Expo in Orlando, FL. Present at the award were mango industry leaders, including many of Walmart suppliers and several NMB board members.
The Mango Retailer of the Year award recognizes retailers that go above and beyond to offer strong consistent support to the mango industry, and deliver outstanding mango promotion results. Walmart was selected from over 100 retailers that partner with the NMB across the U.S.
Left to right: Wendy McManus (NMB), Wynn Peterson (Walmart), Gary Campisi (Walmart) and Manuel Michel (NMB)
Peterson envisioned that making Walmart the destination for mangos in the U.S. would be good for business – not just good for their produce business, but good for their overall store sales. He convinced upper management to invest in an aggressive promotion and pricing strategy, which included huge mango displays featured in prime store locations. “We enjoy the tremendous privilege of selling what is, in my opinion, the best-tasting fruit in the world! Improving freshness has been a strategic focus for us at Walmart for the past two years. Our suppliers have partnered with us to help take days out of our supply chain so that our Walmart customers are enjoying fresher produce than ever,” stated Wynn Peterson, Senior Produce Merchant at Walmart. “Even after a few years of excellent sales performance, we still have tremendous upside as we work together to introduce more people to this delicious fruit.”
Campisi took the lead in making Walmart the first retailer in the U.S. to pursue a year-round ripe and ready to eat mango program. He established the in-house ripening program and trained the QC teams in every DC to condition mangos because he knew it was the right thing for the customer and the industry. “Since 2012 the NMB and their ripening experts (and their persistence!) have helped Walmart develop a mango ripening program that would provide a better eating experience for our customers which would in turn increase sales. We have definitely seen the increase in customer demand, with significant year over year growth in the mango category,” stated Gary Campisi, Senior Director of Quality Control at Walmart. “We very much appreciate the support of the NMB in helping us deliver that great tasting mango, and our customers appreciate them too!”
Peterson and Campisi have shown a great commitment to the NMB and the mango industry in many other ways, such as joining the mango packaging task force and participating in several different panels for mango industry audiences.
“Walmart has fundamentally changed their U.S. mango business model over the past couple of years. And because they are the largest retailer in the U.S., their focus on mangos has impacted the entire industry, whether you sell directly to them or not,” stated Wendy McManus, Retail Program Manager at the NMB.
Contact: Angela Serna
National Mango Board
Tel: (407) 629-7318 ext. 113