Between April and June this year, the candy department at Tony’s Fresh Market in Melrose Park, Illinois, became a go-to destination for local shoppers.
In an interview with Abasto Magazine, Victoria Leal Pérez, Center Store Latin American Category Manager for the Heritage Grocers Group–owned chain, described the strategic transformation process behind this project.
For Leal, the primary objective was finding the ideal commercial partner to maximize the category’s performance. She identified three key areas of opportunity: communication, direction, and purpose, while keeping the customer experience as the top priority. This approach first stabilized the category’s fundamentals while creating a unified vision to drive growth.
“At Tony’s Fresh Market, we maintain very high standards for display and customer presentation. We place great value on clearly defining expectations: space, assortment, timing, and execution,” Leal explained. “Candy has always ranked among the top 5 categories in terms of sales volume and importance for the company.”
Core Axis: Nostalgia and Community
To solidify the department, Leal invited suppliers to present comprehensive work proposals. Piher Group delivered the strategy most closely aligned with the retailer’s vision and consumer insights. The goal was to recreate the shopping experience that many consumers remember from their home countries—bringing together colors, flavors, variety, and products tied to celebrations and shared moments.
“They served as our primary guide throughout the selection and expansion of the project. We incorporated around 200 new varieties that resonate with different age groups, celebrations, and daily consumption habits among our Hispanic shoppers. The selection combined Piher Group’s expertise with Tony’s Fresh Market historical sales data to expand the offering in a relevant way,” noted Leal.
The renovated candy department in Melrose Park blends traditional flavors, toys, and piñatas that evoke Hispanic nostalgia. The comprehensive effort involved system planning and coding, fixture manufacturing, marketing design, and a full week of in-store execution. In total, the teams worked simultaneously for about 6 to 8 weeks, completing the project just in time for the start of the Back-to-School season.
Sweet Results
The restructuring yielded immediate commercial impact. Candy sales posted consistent week-over-week growth, surging +14.3% in the second week and +13.9% in the third week at Tony’s Fresh Market.
Additionally, aggressive promotional strategies were introduced for category-leading items during the third week to drive engagement, store traffic, and momentum toward the candy department. This effort propelled overall Hispanic candy category sales 27.2% above the historical average, significantly accelerating unit volume with a 48.3% increase in units sold compared to the second week.
Following the success in Melrose Park, the chain is preparing to replicate the model. “Our next upcoming project is the Burbank store, as part of our effort to bring this experience to more Tony’s shoppers,” Leal confirmed.
MEET VICTORIA LEAL
Origin: Venezuela
Background: Extensive experience in the CPG industry managing American and Latin American food categories, Health & Beauty Care (HBC), General Merchandise, Non-Foods, and Pet Products. Proven track record in promotions, marketing, advertising, vendor negotiations, driving sales velocity, and boosting profitability.
Favorite Candy: Paleta Payaso
Quote: “It has been immensely rewarding to lead projects that make such a meaningful impact on the community. We still have opportunities to further segment our offerings, expand our selection of artisanal products, introduce lower-sugar lines—a rapidly growing trend—and reinforce cross-merchandising with other categories to raise the average basket size, which remains one of our daily goals as a retailer.”