Weather
Outside of the controlled climate is where business can get tricky. “The weather makes it interesting,” shares Chip Wiechec, president of Hunter Bros., Inc. Fluctuating temperatures, not growers, created sizeable gaps and gluts in the marketplace. The wet spring earlier this year delayed planting, while cooler temperatures threatened replants of important summer items like parsley, radishes, and endive in areas like Michigan and Ohio. “Vegetables are impacted more than fruit,” he observes.
Due to the unpredictability of nature’s forces, Wiechec says, “Merchants who can be flexible and roll with the weather have an advantage over those who are locked into a [preplanned] program.” When retailers commit to ads based on historical marketing programs, he explains, sometimes, because of weather events, the promotion is in place but the produce is not.
Maxwell discussed California’s drought and whether it’s been affecting produce businesses on the East Coast. “People say it’s not—but it is,” he states. “The drought is driving the cost of goods up and up. When the availability of goods diminishes, the cost climbs accordingly.”
Marketplace Trends
Like pretty much everywhere, locally grown product continues to be popular with consumers. For Philly, this can mean product from growers in New Jersey, New York, and up the coast. Plus, the transportation headaches are having a positive effect on the locally grown market. “It’s fresh and reasonable, because there’s less freight involved,” says Collotti.
Reilly also keeps tabs on the locally-grown trend. “When selling to retailers, if we can say it is locally grown, that’s a good selling point for us,” he comments. Further, business is up 20 percent to date over last year, and Reilly credits locally sourced goods as a part of this success.
John Vena agrees. As president of John Vena, Inc., he says “the demand for local continues to drive so many marketing and purchasing plans.” Even so, he says local is not the biggest trend. “The strongest trend we see is toward more and more ethnic or regional specialties.” But Vena doesn’t mean domestically grown. “We are constantly working to fulfill demand for imported product to round out seasonal domestic offerings.”
One such imported item is mangos. “The demand for mangos increases every year,” points out Penza. “It’s a great summer item, and all year round, too.” Penza attributes mango demand to mainstream consumers becoming more educated about the beneficial fiber, vitamins, and minerals found in the fruit. “It’s no longer an ethnic item.”
Mangos and cilantro are good examples of what used to be considered specialty or ethnic, but are now a staple on many shoppers’ lists. Collotti credits cooking shows and chefs for the ballooning demand of once-unknown products. “Specialty produce is not just for certain groups anymore,” he says.
