The Fresh Market celebrated a corporate milestone several months ago with the grand opening of its 100th store. Shoppers turned out in droves to welcome the new store located in St. Petersburg, Florida. In May, InStore Buyer toured the St. Petersburg store and other locations of this innovative chain along Florida’s Gulf Coast.

At the time of its opening, The Fresh Market store marked the company’s 24th in the state of Florida. The St. Petersburg location houses 22,000 square feet of culinary delights, including a bakery that bakes 30 breads and 14 different kinds of pie daily.
The Fresh Market carries a total of 10,000 SKUs and concentrates heavily on perishables to make its selection distinctive.

The following are prime examples:
A small chalkboard sign on the bakery counter announces what the bakery is sampling each day. On this day in May, they are sampling Strawberry Chantilly Cake, Italian Cream Cake, and Carrot Cake.
Oversized gourmet cupcakes come in decadent flavor choices including strawberry white chocolate, cookies & cream, and chocolate raspberry. Gourmet cupcakes sell for $2.99 each.
Cheesecake slices offer another convenient dessert option, in such flavors as Belgian chocolate hazelnut or white chocolate raspberry – selling for $2.99 a slice.