Kevin Kaeser, 38

Category Manager, The Winn-Dixie Company, Jacksonville, FL

June 12, 2026 | 1 min to read

SHORT BIO

Hometown: Bricktown, NJ
Hobbies: Fishing, Golfing, Grilling
Family/Community: Married, 2 sons, Coaching little league teams
Motto in life: Carpe Diem

Kaeser has built a distinguished career spanning more than 20 years with The Winn-Dixie Company. He started in 2003 as a front-end associate and has advanced over the past 23 years through store-level roles to his current position as category manager. With experience across the grocer’s stores and business operations, he has a commitment to continuous improvement and collaboration.

A graduate of the Southeast Produce Council’s STEP-UPP program, he is known for connecting strategy with execution and building strong partnerships that support long-term success. At Winn-Dixie, his diverse operational background has provided him with a comprehensive understanding of store execution, merchandising, and strategic category management, enabling him to consistently deliver results that enhance both customer experience and business performance.

Kaeser is recognized for his ability to connect data-driven insights with practical execution, driving disciplined improvements through cross-functional collaboration. Among his most notable accomplishments, he led a high-impact, cross-functional initiative to revitalize the value-added produce category.

By leveraging sales and shrink analytics, he identified opportunities to realign assortments, labor focus, and in-store processes toward higher-growth segments. Through close partnership with store operations and support teams, he simplified workflows and empowered associates to prioritize high-value tasks, resulting in a 16% year-over-year increase in category sales, while simultaneously reducing shrink.

A committed people leader, he is equally passionate about talent development, maintaining a strong record of mentoring and coaching that has led to numerous internal promotions, and reinforcing his belief that sustained success is built through investing in people and capability.

He actively contributes to the produce industry through his involvement with the SEPC Retail Committee, where he shares retailer perspectives.

Q: What do you wish you knew when you first started your career?

The value of the relationship between retailers and suppliers is paramount, with the volatility every category experiences throughout the year.

Q: What is the one thing in produce that you are most passionate about?

Delivering the highest quality produce to my customers throughout Florida.

Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career?

Seeing people with whom I was able to spend time in my career go on to become successful and build their own careers within the organization.

Q: What do you think drives growth the most in the industry?

Enhancing the customer experience while meeting their everyday needs and delivering on this daily.

Q: Where do you think growth happens the most?

Operations, this is where we have face time with our customers and the opportunity to develop relationships with the communities we serve.

Q: What are some trends you think fuel consumers to purchase more produce?

Functional foods that customers already know are better for you, but learning the why and what the specific nutrients can do for the body. Educating the customers while in our stores is key.