Page 105 - January_2019

‘Our market holds a unique place among produce markets world-wide. ... The clean and walk-able concourse is easy to shop and compare.
— Christine Hofman, Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market
Jamall Valdes (left), a produce manager at Whole Foods on Columbus Circle, talks with guests on the Manhattan Tour; guests on the Brooklyn Tour (center) were wowed by Small- hold’s indoor mushroom farm; attendees on the Hunts Point Produce Market were taken through many of the wholesale rooms and along the terminal bays in the Bronx.
At the Whole Foods in Newark, Nadiyah Reaves, produce team member, explained the chain’s focus. “Quality is a major key,” she says. “The produce department is great. We believe in everything fresh.”
Patricia Brunn, category manager of food, vegetable, owers and plants for German retailer the Rewe Group, learns a lot from tours. “Retail tours are my highlight every time,” she says. “We are free to ask ques- tions and take photos, which is different than in Germany. It’s a good way to share ideas, packaging ideas and marketing concepts.”
MANHATTAN
From the massive, bustling Whole Foods Market to smaller-but-beautiful produce sections at Morton Williams and D’Agos- tino to the decades-old Essex Street Market on the Lower East Side, attendees on this year’s Manhattan Tour got a glimpse of everything fresh in the Big Apple.
At family-owned Morton Williams, produce director Marc Goldman proudly showed off his store’s incredible use of tight space and vintage look — where workers neatly stack many bulk items high in baskets (such as peppers, cucumbers and zucchini) or with bright-green tissue paper tucked below each orange, pear, lemon and apple.
The Whole Foods on Columbus Circle boasts one of the chain’s biggest produce sections in North America, according to Jamall Valdes, a manager. More than 70 employees are dedicated to keeping this section continually stocked and sparkling.
A trip down to Essex Street, featured vendors selling fresh fruits and other gourmet items in the historic neighborhood market
that dates to 1940. Sobeida de la Cruz, manager at Viva Fruits and Vegetables, and Essex Street Community Programs Manager Lauren Margolis, took questions on the variety of ethnic produce coming through the market, which is moving into a 1.9-million- square-foot facility nearby later this year.
The tour culminated with a trip to another Manhattan xture, D’Agostinos, whose produce space is limited but still rst-rate. With deliveries happening every other day and items continually rotated, the retailer does an impressive job of not only neatly displaying its perfect-looking items — from mangos to melons — it also has a large cut-fruit program that it manages in-store.
BROOKLYN
Brooklyn tour attendees seemed to appreciate the blend of stops that included urban farming and a mix of various format retail stores — taking informative visits to Square Roots, City Acres Market, Three Guys from Brooklyn, Smallhold Mushroom Farm and Brooklyn Fare.
Tour retailers seemed to value exploring details of the relationships between the urban farm producers and partner retailers, including merchandising, branding and business relationship formats.
The founders of “Three Guys from Brooklyn” welcomed guests with engaging stories, showing off their family-run, open-air produce market, while at Smallhold, chief executive Andrew Carter and chief operating of cer Adam DeMartino offered a fascinating presentation on the distributed mushroom farm and its relationship with partner restau- rants and grocery produce departments.
Sustainability and reducing carbon footprint was a big message delivered by Square Roots Growers, wihch use e-bikes to deliver to retail stores to reduce emissions.
HUNTS POINT MARKET
A tour of Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx gave participants an up-close look at how ef cient a major terminal market in a big city must be to keep its clients coming back.
Hunts Point, where wholesalers have served New York City’s most-discerning customers for more than a half-century — from mom-and-pop stores to restaurateurs (some 23,000 worth) — allowed those on the tour to see bananas ripening, tomatoes and potatoes being processed and sorted, as well as a walk along the fast-paced terminal’s docks.
Representatives from Nathel & Nathel, S. Katzman Produce, Fierman Produce Exchange, E. Armata, Inc., and Top Banana opened their doors for tour attendees, and Matthew D’Arrigo, Joel Fierman, Stephen Katzman and Myra Gordon were all on hand at a delicious working lunch to discuss the ever-changing market, which handles 210 million packages of produce every year and generates $2.3 billion in annual sales.
PHILADELPHIA
Tour participants, including wholesalers, small independent retailers, grower/shippers and media representatives got a rst-hand look at the state-of-the-art Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market (PWPM).
The group was welcomed to the state- of-the-art Philadelphia facility by Christine
PRODUCE BUSINESS / JANUARY 2019 NYPS21