Two national trends are converging in our stores, and we’ve created some eye-catching signs and shelf tags to address them both.

Over the last few years, our customers have expressed growing interest in two shopping trends: knowing the source of their food and supporting local farms and businesses. As a leading grocery retailer, we’re in the perfect position to help our customers find that information, which is why we’ve introduced new signage across the store.

“We understand some of our customers are looking to purchase more local items. Our new local shelf tags will help these customers understand which items are grown or produced in their state,” said Senior Vice President Dave Bornmann. “In addition, we will be sharing some stories about our suppliers. Many have been producing quality products for a long time, and some even produce specific quantities just for Publix.”

Everyone has a different definition of local, so we decided to define local as being grown, harvested or manufactured within a single state or — in the case of the Carolinas — within the two-state region. In early April, we shipped kits with an assortment of signs to point out grocery, produce, meat and seafood items from your store’s state. In addition to signs, some stores have an endcap dedicated to showcasing local products and telling a supplier story, and every store has shelf tag talkers to point out more products from its state.

One of the advantages of the local distinction is our ability to feature items or flavors that are unique to your state. For example, you’re more likely to find local orange blossom honey in Florida, while local honey in North Carolina might be derived from tulip poplar.

What about seafood or meats that aren’t local to your store? We also have tags to point out products from other states in our market.. For example, if you’re in Tennessee, but the shrimp in your store is from Georgia, it will have a sign with the logo for Wild Georgia Shrimp. This will make it easier for you and your customers to see, at a glance, where certain items come from.

Here are a few examples of the signs and tags you’ll see at your Publix. Customers can learn more about our local program from cards in the Customer Information Center at the front of your store.

Stores with endcaps have headers to designate their showcase of local products.

Seafood cards will indicate locally or regionally sourced seafood.

Shelf tag talkers show which items are local, and local meat or seafood items will also have the logo for that state’s program.

Supplier stories tell customers more about our local products.