Throughout its history, Longo Brothers Fruit Market Inc. BB #:154544 Vaughan, ON, has maintained a focus on fresh and high-quality foods, carrying a wide variety and emphasizing locally sourced products.
“A commitment to quality has been Longo’s modus operandi since it was first started,” says John Russell, president of J.E. Russell Produce Limited BB #:115731 in Toronto, and in turn, this has created both loyal suppliers and shoppers.
Jon Hauptman, senior director of analytics at Inmar Intelligence, Winston-Salem, NC, agrees. “Longo’s doesn’t waver from its fresh and quality positioning; stores have unique signature items you can’t find anywhere else, both branded and under the Longo’s brand.” He also praises an emphasis on local sourcing. “Longo’s wins in the area of local.”
“Longo’s relentless focus on quality, including placing dedicated teams to manage specific functions and subcategories, ensures the company lives up to its foundational promise around produce and fresh,” adds Carol Spieckerman, president of Spieckerman Retail in Bentonville, AR.
Showcasing fruits and vegetables
Fresh produce has always been at the heart of the grocer’s identity and branding, and is still part of its full name: Longo Brothers Fruit Market Inc.
This is confirmed by Mimmo Franzone, director of produce and floral at Longo Brothers.
“Produce has always been a priority for us—we continue to follow in our founders’ footsteps,” he says. “Sourcing the best and freshest produce and offering the greatest value for our guests is what we stand by.”
Russell concurs: “It’s still the heart and soul of the operation. Longo’s is very nimble and agile in making decisions and can take advantage of opportunity buys. When a supply situation comes up where management can offer a better retail price, they can move on it quickly.”
Going hand in hand with freshness and quality is an emphasis on area growers.
“Local is always top of mind at Longo’s,” stresses Franzone. “During the peak of our local season, 75 percent of the department would be sourced locally, and anything that’s not, wouldn’t be native to Ontario.”
The quest for the best quality has led to some innovations in the store. “I would say the retail space allocation for produce is very similar to other retailers in our market,” notes Franzone, “but over the last few years, we’ve made changes to our fixtures to adapt to the needs of our guests. An example would be adding refrigeration to ultra-perishable categories like berries and grapes.”
The emphasis on freshness, quality, variety, and local sourcing extends beyond produce into every department.
“Longo’s services a multiethnic market better than anyone else and has lots of different ingredients you don’t find elsewhere,” says Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
This is an excerpt from the Toronto & Ontario supplement to the May/June 2021 issue of Produce Blueprints Magazine. Click here to read the whole issue.
