Stuart Perry first was exposed to marketing in childhood, when he watched his parents’ backyard greenhouse turn into a thriving produce business at his father’s downtown Buena Vista service station.

“I learned in Buena Vista that, this time of year, many tourists stopped at our gas station for fresh farm products,” the founder and director of Perry Wellness Center explains.

Lessons learned in boyhood have transformed into a sharp eye for marketing trends and a hands-on approach to customer service. Lately, his skills are being applied to the expansion of the Mobile Market into surrounding communities. He is also applying those experiences to Rudy’s Happy Patch Market, on the campus of Perry Wellness Center. For example, the concept of “point of purchase” displays has enlarged to bigger displays of like shrub and vegetables.

“The sites we visit are all different, but we have learned that large displays of like products will lead customers to mentally review their need for products,” Stuart notes. “It is all good.”

In the photo above, a large display of summer’s best watermelons lines the steps to Rudy’s Happy Patch Market.