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When it comes to bagging it, Kyle Caserza is the king

Jun 6, 2010 8:05 AM

The 20-year-old bagger with the Vacaville market beat out competitors from nine other California stores in a series of grocery "bag-offs," earning him a $500 prize and making him the California State Best Bagger Champion.

The big win came with an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas to the National Grocers Association (NGA) Best Bagger Championship. Held in February, the competition brought together top baggers from 24 states to battle it out for the grand prize of $10,000 and a chance to appear on the "Late Show with David Letterman" to bag-off against the late-night talk show host.

Caserza never imagined he would be vying for the title of the nation's best bagger when he began working for Nugget as a courtesy clerk three years ago.

"I came into it as a summer job," said Caserza, a part-time student at California State University, Sacramento. "It really is an art. It's more than just putting everything into the bag."

In a bag-off, contestants are presented with a combination of jars, boxes, cans and other grocery items with the challenge to place the items in the bag in the best way possible, in the shortest amount of time.

"But time isn't everything," Caserza stressed.

Contestants are also judged on proper bag-building technique, distribution of weight between bags (they should be as close to equal as possible), style, attitude and

appearance.

If Caserza was judged on attitude alone, the championship would be his because of his intensity, ambition and infectious enthusiasm.

"I like to work hard and get things done," he said. "Don't ever let someone tell you that you can't do something."

Vacaville Nugget Markets store director, Greg Dido, said Caserza's dedication is the key.

"Anyone who sets up a checkstand in his living room for months to practice on is in it to win," Dido said, laughing. "He definitely represented California well."

So what's his secret?

"It would help if I was taller," Caserza joked. "But it really is a matter of working hard. You have to start somewhere and build a foundation."

Hard work? No problem. Besides practicing on his homemade, living-room checkstand, Caserza would come in on his days off, or stay four or five hours after work shifts, to practice.

He also credits his co-workers and family members for his success. "Other people's input helped with strategy," he said. "I was lucky to have good support. It helped me go stronger."

That support system accompanied him to the finals in Las Vegas, where he faced 23 able opponents in the Super Bowl of bag-offs.

The first ever bag-packing contest was held in 1983, sponsored by the American Paper Institute. The NGA took over as sponsor of the Best Bagger contest in 1986, with the intent of promoting proper bagging as an important part of operating a successful retail grocery business. Nugget Markets has participated since 1994.

The annual contest even inspired the award-winning independent, feature-length documentary, "Ready, Set, Bag," which follows the lives of eight individuals and their journeys -- like Caserza's -- to the national championship.

Adding a twist this year was the elimination of the paper or plastic question. For the first time at the contest, reusable eco-friendly grocery bags were used. Although paper was used in the local and state competitions, Caserza practiced with the reusable bags.

"It was definitely different to bag with," he said. "It was harder but I got used to it."

Performing on stage in front of a boisterous audience at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, Caserza bagged his best. While he felt good about his performance, it wasn't enough to beat out 19-year old Kyle Perry from Indiana, who shares the same first name as Caserza.

"When they announced his name, I seriously thought I had won," he said.

While trying to shake off the loss, Caserza hinted that he might be back again next year.

"I'm not satisfied," he admitted. "I use my past competitors as my fire."

In the meantime, it's work as usual, although Caserza is somewhat of a local celebrity now, having been featured by local media, including an appearance on CW 31's "Good Morning Sacramento."

"Yeah, sometimes people will come in and ask for 'the bagger guy'," he said when asked how fame has affected him.

But Caserza certainly hasn't let it go to his head. "It's a rush and it's fun, but I know I can always work harder, stronger and faster."

Nugget Market puts their prices up for challenge

Apr 15, 2010 2:38 PM

Survey shows differences in grocery item prices

Published on Apr 15, 2010

Editors Note: The California Aggie sent reporter Vanna Le to take the Nugget Market Price Survey, which compares Nugget and competitors prices in Davis.

Because grocery store prices vary by store and produce prices change rapidly, its always difficult to determine which grocery stores actually do maintain low prices.

I recently visited the Nugget Market on East Covell Boulevard after hearing about the "Nugget Market Price Survey," hoping to gain some insight into the world of competitive grocery store pricing.

The survey invites local shoppers to write down a list of 25 regularly bought grocery store items, along with Nugget and their competitors prices. To keep things fair, the items must be of the same brand and size from both stores.

This may seem like a tedious amount of work, but the incentive lies within a $1,000 Nugget gift card awarded monthly to a raffle contest winner.

"Weve been doing this for about two years, and weve found that eight out of 10 times, our prices are definitely lower," said Kate Stille, director of marketing for Nugget Market.

They arent afraid to publicize their results either. Above the entranceway next to the Nugget Deli section is a scoreboard where survey results are announced to the general public.

"People tend to have the perception that Nugget may be more expensive, but this isnt always the case," Stille said. "And the reason is because a lot of the items we do carry are specialty items that you cant find at standard conventional stores."

She said that the best way to do a comparison between prices is to take the survey - which was exactly what I set out to do.

Filling up 25 items wasnt difficult at all; I racked up my list with common items that a college student might purchase - such as bread, cereal, soymilk, vegetables and a plentiful supply of coffee and energy drinks. The competing store of choice was Safeway.

Upon completion of the survey, I met with Dave Wilson, store director of the Nugget Market. We calculated the total prices from each store and compared them: Nuggets total was $62.39 and Safeway at $77.28 - the difference being $14.89.

"People always come back surprised after taking the survey. But were dedicated to having lower prices," Wilson said. "We spend hundreds of hours a week on pricing, and we have a team of crew members who physically gets out there to check prices."

The Nugget prices on my item list turned out to be cheaper for the most part. When they werent, the prices were relatively similar by a few cents.

A half gallon of Silk soymilk, for example, was $3.29 at Safeway and $3.69 at the Nugget. Items such as Golden Grain spaghetti and Jell-O mix sold for the same prices.

"I only shop at the Nugget Market when Im looking for something specific, such as organic fruits or a certain product," said Amy Pham, a junior managerial economics major. "Most of the time, Ill shop at Safeway because the things I usually buy are cheaper there."

Rebeca Wolfe, a senior psychology major said that she usually shops at the Nugget.

"I found that the prices are kind of similar anyway," she said. "Theres also a better variety here, such as non-meat foods and Earth-friendly products."

Unlike their typical competitors, Wilson said that the Nugget Market doesnt have a major reliance on advertisements. Rather, they have a Twitter and Facebook page, and prefer to depend on word of mouth.

"Our guests make us who we are, as well as the quality of our services and our values. Our produce, for example, is locally grown," Wilson said. "And we have a deli and bakery that prepares food fresh from scratch."

The Nugget Market encourages all of their guests to take the Price Survey Challenge in order to determine which prices are cheaper.

"The Price Survey shows our willingness to compare prices," said Eric Lam, a shift manager at the Nugget Market. "Even though we arent always going to have the lowest prices on everything, the fact that we arent afraid to put ourselves out there and present the challenge really says something."

For more information about the Nugget Markey Price Survey, visit a nearby Nugget store or nuggetmarket.com.

Written by Vanna Le, Staff Writer 

Nugget Market Moves Up on "Best Companies" list

Jan 26, 2010 7:15 PM

SACRAMENTO, CA - Its not all gloom and doom. According to Fortune Magazine, one of the top companies in the country is here in Northern California.  KXTV, Channel 10

The Gold Standard: Nugget Markets soars to No. 5 on Fortune's list

Jan 26, 2010 4:30 PM

Nugget Markets has once again captured a top spot, climbing ever higher - to fifth place, up from 10th last year - on FORTUNE magazines national list of "100 Best Companies to Work For."  Davis Enterprise

I work for one of the 10 Best Companies

Jan 21, 2010 10:15 AM

Coming to this company was a great transition for me because of the family atmosphere that it offered.  CNNMoney.com