The South Jersey growing region continues to have an impact on the Eastern Seaboard and beyond with the myriad of commodities—from broccoli, lettuce, and squash to blueberries, peaches, and sweet corn—it supplies each year. Exploring this microcosm of productivity provides an engaging example of the trade. Learn how hurdles are addressed and business is kept flourishing by the industry’s focus on marketing local and much more.
Strong Local Branding
For growers and suppliers in Jersey, locally grown is not just a trend, it’s a mainstay. The Jersey Fresh program, which celebrates its 35th anniversary next year, “is synonymous not only with local in New Jersey and the surrounding states, but also with freshness and quality along the Eastern Seaboard,” says Tom Beaver, who knows what he’s talking about, since he directs the division of marketing and development for the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.
When the season gets started, John Molinelli, president of John Molinelli, Inc. in Vineland, NJ says, “We really push local produce.” This isn’t just because wholesalers want to sell it and there are lower shipping costs, but because the company’s customer base actively seeks it out.
This is backed up by another longtime vendor: “People look for it as soon as they walk in,” says Ryan Flaim, managing member for R&R Flaim Next Generation Produce, LLC, also based in Vineland.
Bill Nardelli Jr., secretary and treasurer for Nardelli Brothers, Inc., a fifth-generation grower-shipper based in Cedarville, also applauds the dramatic surge over the past decade with retailers, foodservice, and restaurants promoting the “local program and riding the trend on its upward swing.”
Beaver says the state is all in. “We’re so well positioned with the Jersey Fresh program—our brand resonates with consumers.” According to a shopper awareness survey, 72 percent are more likely to buy Jersey Fresh products than the alternative, up 10 percent from last year. Additionally, the poll found that 64 percent would ask for Jersey Fresh if they didn’t see it in the store, an 11 percent increase. “Retailers have taken note, partnering with us to promote the brand at point of purchase.” The label continues to expand, and Beaver says the agency’s new website is a “repository for all things Jersey Fresh, from grower directories to embedded recipe videos and farmer profiles.”
The unveiling is a testament to its increasingly robust online presence, built in recent years, and Beaver says the platform “will serve as the go-to resource for consumers, buyers, as well as retailers who want to know the latest about what’s in season and how they can leverage the Jersey Fresh program to appeal to consumers.”
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The South Jersey growing region continues to have an impact on the Eastern Seaboard and beyond with the myriad of commodities—from broccoli, lettuce, and squash to blueberries, peaches, and sweet corn—it supplies each year. Exploring this microcosm of productivity provides an engaging example of the trade. Learn how hurdles are addressed and business is kept flourishing by the industry’s focus on marketing local and much more.
Strong Local Branding
For growers and suppliers in Jersey, locally grown is not just a trend, it’s a mainstay. The Jersey Fresh program, which celebrates its 35th anniversary next year, “is synonymous not only with local in New Jersey and the surrounding states, but also with freshness and quality along the Eastern Seaboard,” says Tom Beaver, who knows what he’s talking about, since he directs the division of marketing and development for the New Jersey Department of Agriculture.
When the season gets started, John Molinelli, president of John Molinelli, Inc. in Vineland, NJ says, “We really push local produce.” This isn’t just because wholesalers want to sell it and there are lower shipping costs, but because the company’s customer base actively seeks it out.
This is backed up by another longtime vendor: “People look for it as soon as they walk in,” says Ryan Flaim, managing member for R&R Flaim Next Generation Produce, LLC, also based in Vineland.
Bill Nardelli Jr., secretary and treasurer for Nardelli Brothers, Inc., a fifth-generation grower-shipper based in Cedarville, also applauds the dramatic surge over the past decade with retailers, foodservice, and restaurants promoting the “local program and riding the trend on its upward swing.”
Beaver says the state is all in. “We’re so well positioned with the Jersey Fresh program—our brand resonates with consumers.” According to a shopper awareness survey, 72 percent are more likely to buy Jersey Fresh products than the alternative, up 10 percent from last year. Additionally, the poll found that 64 percent would ask for Jersey Fresh if they didn’t see it in the store, an 11 percent increase. “Retailers have taken note, partnering with us to promote the brand at point of purchase.” The label continues to expand, and Beaver says the agency’s new website is a “repository for all things Jersey Fresh, from grower directories to embedded recipe videos and farmer profiles.”
The unveiling is a testament to its increasingly robust online presence, built in recent years, and Beaver says the platform “will serve as the go-to resource for consumers, buyers, as well as retailers who want to know the latest about what’s in season and how they can leverage the Jersey Fresh program to appeal to consumers.”
Seasonal Highlights
Nardelli Brothers is broadening its sweet corn operation to include “a few new proprietary varieties of white corn, which are great eating and popular in the Northeast,” shares Nardelli. The expansion will include greater involvement with packaging, starting with a new trade pack this season.
New Jersey is also well known for its high-quality peach and blueberry production, which Beaver says is “evidence of the years spent identifying the varieties most suitable for our unique growing conditions. While New Jerseyans are fanatical about their Jersey Fresh peaches and blueberries, our reputation of excellence extends far beyond our borders,” he points out, with consumers seeking and purchasing the Jersey Fresh label throughout New England and even extending into eastern Canada. Here’s a closer look at these two Jersey mainstays.
Fields of Blue
Mid-June is prime time for Jersey blueberries, which have a six- to eight-week season, according to Bob Von Rohr, director of marketing for Sunny Valley International, Inc. in Glassboro, who works with both conventional and organic blueberries from the state. The two main varieties, Duke and Bluecrop, are both high bush varieties and quite labor intensive as they are hand-picked during harvest.
Grower-shipper The Fresh Wave, LLC in Vineland has its eye on opening the market to a few late season varieties it’s been experimenting with, as well as adding acreage for organic blueberries “to take advantage of market trends,” according to vice president Tom Consalo.
For all the successes and high demand, however, blueberries haven’t gone untouched by weather variations in recent years, which Consalo says has “driven different cost patterns for domestic blues on both the East and West Coasts.” Because of Mother Nature’s unpredictability, Fresh Wave has diversified its “growing areas to combat weather events and keep consistent quality and supply.”
Just Peachy
With a season that runs from June to September, Jersey peaches are nurtured on 80 orchards encompassing 5,500 acres. Gloucester, Cumberland, Camden, Atlantic, and Salem counties of the state’s southern district are home to these orchards, with Gloucester leading the pack in number of trees. With over 100 varieties of yellow and white flesh peaches and nectarines grown in the state, Von Rohr says he “couldn’t even begin to name them all.” The state’s growers work in conjunction with Rutgers University on the development of new varieties as well as decision-making for which ones will replace older trees that no longer produce hearty yields.
“It is no secret that 2017 was an outstanding year for New Jersey tree fruit, and we’re expecting another exceptional season in 2018,” surmises Beaver. The state produced a bumper crop last year with 48 million pounds of peaches, 8 million more than the previous year, moving it to the nation’s second highest producer behind only California.
Part of the state’s stellar success last year was due to weather woes in other traditionally high-yielding peach states. Von Rohr says sometimes it’s a challenge to keep the peaches moving, but with entire crops lost in Georgia and South Carolina freezes, New Jersey not only had a stunning season but was able to move quickly to fill supply gaps and secure premium pricing.
Last summer, Eastern Propak, LLC moved 650 boxes of peaches under the Jersey Fresh label, according to general manager Jeff Danner, who highlights the Gloria variety. In only its fourth year of packing this particular variety of peach commercially, Danner says Gloria has so far outdone itself as “the new kid on the block and has shown all the pluses—as far as great for eating and packing.”
In addition to skyrocketing demand for locally produced fruits and vegetables, Danner is also handling more imports, from countries near and far. “We’ve seen solid upward growth in terms of produce coming in from offshore,” he confirms, so much so that the company had run out of cooling and packing space and was forced to store product off site.
And while high demand is always a blessing, it does create a few hiccups. With clients growing their businesses over the past few years, Eastern Propak needed to broaden its own services.
The company responded by doubling capacity of its original warehouse. “It’s close to a 100-percent uptick for the company,” Danner says of the expansion, “and I see no qualms or issues in using it to its fullest.”
Ode to Organics
Market share for organics is still small and a niche compared to other regions, but its presence continues to inch upward year after year. For The Fresh Wave, 2018 will mark the first year the company will offer organic blueberries all year, due to higher demand. Consalo says there have been modest upticks in organic vegetables too, that “although small, [the segment] still grows annually.”
R&R Flaim has enthusiastically embraced the higher demand for organics, experiencing solid and steady growth of 15 to 17 percent over the past three years. In response, Ryan Flaim says the grower-shipper has acknowledged demand by increasing acreage and plantings of organic squash varieties as well as herbs.
Von Rohr, of Sunny Valley International, believes sustainability is a key factor in the heightened demand for organics.
Beaver says there’s been double-digit growth across the state and has “witnessed firsthand the continued ascent of this category. We don’t see any signs of this trend slowing down,” he contends, “and are eager to see New Jersey growers capture additional market share in this key growth category.”
Perfecting Packaging
Although most wholesalers ship bulk or loose produce, this has been changing as consumers seek alternatives, especially those offering convenience. Von Rohr acknowledges the shift from bulk to packaging, with consumers reaching for more bagged produce over the tradition of picking fruit one piece at a time. This now holds true for peaches, he notes, with the popularity of 2-pound tote bags with retailers. “Peaches are now being requested in the same way as grapes.”
Desire for different sized packs has increased volume as well. Instead of a pint of berries, for example, Sunny Valley also offers 18-ounce, 24-ounce, and 2-pound packages. And in working with the state’s largest organic blueberry grower, both full- and half-pint packaging is available, Von Rohr says.
Over at The Fresh Wave, Consalo says the grower is also “working with new packaging to stay relevant in the marketplace.” From an efficiency standpoint, top-seal technology is increasingly popular, which he characterizes as having “a fresh look” and the packaging also reduces shrink. Fresh Wave has also partnered with a few retailers to delve into further research to figure out what consumers really want “regarding pack sizes and weights,” so suppliers and sellers can more effectively target their audience.
Another trend in packaging is exploring more grab-and-go options and designs. “Convenience is big going forward,” says Nardelli. “Consumers don’t have time in the kitchen and need what can be eaten as easily as possible.”
An Eye to Conservation
Conservation and sustainability are the capstone of production for New Jerseyans. “All of our farmers are on drip irrigation to conserve water,” says Von Rohr, who also works with the state’s largest peach grower and a blueberry farmer who are both harnessing solar power in their operations.
For its part, The Fresh Wave is concentrating on waste reduction. Consalo says the grower is “very aware of food waste and constantly looking to improve.” Currently, he says the company is “working on new SKUs that will use up a lot of what becomes waste,” to not only boost sales but also reduce any wasted product.
R&R Flaim takes sustainability and waste reduction seriously too. The grower’s approach starts in the field with biodegradable products like mulch and black plastic, then extends to the pack house and delivery to retailers with exchangeable plastic totes. Once the product is delivered to a retailer, the store folds the totes flat, they’re sanitized, then shipped back to the grower. “It’s an important thing because we’re cutting down on a lot of packaging waste—it’s not being disposed of, or recycled, but reused,” Flaim says. But bottom line, he notes, is “people are more conscious of what they’re buying.”
Food Safety & Pest Management
With food safety continuing to be “a hot topic for produce growers across New Jersey,” according to Beaver—and even more so after the recent romaine lettuce E. Coli outbreak—the state’s Department of Agriculture offers extensive education and training aligned with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and its various rules and regulations. This year, Beaver says a new support feature has been added, offering ‘On-Farm Readiness Assessments’ for interested growers.
“The concept is simple: our staff, along with food safety experts from Rutgers University, will visit participating farms throughout the growing season for voluntary, fully confidential site inspections to walk them through the requirements for FSMA and provide guidance on any adjustments that may be necessary to come into compliance,” explains Beaver.
Rutgers University also provides an integrated pest management program that local growers take advantage of. R&R Flaim has already jumped on board: in addition to using bug traps made from strips of natural vegetation, the company has been using the Rutgers program for nine years.
Instead of “just spraying on a regimented schedule,” Flaim says fields are scouted for specific pest or disease problems and then recommendations are made by Rutgers experts, so the grower uses only what is needed and can reduce unnecessary applications.
Labor & Transportation
Shortages in quality labor continue to hit a nerve for the produce industry, and those in Jersey are not immune to the plight. Until there’s a better policy in place, Nardelli says of the upcoming season, “It’s going to be hard to secure a work force to harvest these vegetables.”
Fresh Wave works to combat the deficit by keeping “crews 12 months out of the year to avoid seasonal gaps and labor shortages,” according to Consalo.
Eastern Propak’s Danner expresses concern for the increasing minimum wage. “It’s only a matter of time before they affect our contract labor and how I compensate my people,” he says. The trouble arises when surrounding states like Pennsylvania and Delaware are not under the same mandates as New Jersey.
Federal regulation in the transportation industry has had an effect nationwide, and in New Jersey. Consalo believes the mandatory implementation of electronic logs “has taken a lot of carriers off of the road, [creating] a shortage of trucks and higher transportation costs.” To help compensate for the challenges, Consalo says Fresh Wave increased its “vigilance on who we partner with for transport, and depending on the item or circumstance, we load trucks a day early to ensure timely deliveries.”
Fresh Future
New Jerseyans don’t shy away from challenges and the state’s fruit and vegetable suppliers are more than willing and able to tackle each season’s ups and downs. With support from the state’s Department of Agriculture and the popularity of the Jersey Fresh program, everyone along the supply chain is embracing another year of fresh market trends while already looking forward to the next.
For everyone in the fresh-focused state, just ask John Molinelli. He puts it this way, saying it’s all about “service, quality, and a premium product in the right price range.” Enough said.
Image: Yasonya, Elovich/Shutterstock.com
