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Through retail consolidation, the emergence of produce in big box stores, an increase in distribution centers and direct supermarket buying from grower-shippers,
wholesalers remain indispensable.
They build resilience into the produce
distribution system by giving the largest retailers a safety net that helps them safely avoid stocking too much produce, and providing efficiency that lets smaller stores and restaurants stay in the game.
But possibly most important, wholesalers remain an indispensable source of information largely because of their wealth of contacts at the nerve center of the complex movement of fruits and vegetables from field to fork.
“Many of our customers rely on us to be their eyes and ears — and we think of ourselves as their partner, rather than supplier,” says John Vena, president of John Vena Inc., Philadelphia. “We keep tabs on market conditions across the board, but more importantly, we try to keep tabs on their business.That’s where we provide
the real added value, especially for a lot of our foodservice and processing customers who have very specific needs about product quality and specifications.”
This family-owned-and-run company was started a century ago by the original John Vena, who had immigrated from Gangi, a farming community in western Sicily.
“We go out of our way to identify issues before they occur, rather than risk headaches for everyone down the line,” says Vena. “Not to mention, we have 100 years’ worth of rela- tionships in the industry on everything from greenhouse veg to Jerusalem artichokes and jackfruit. That range of product plus that kind of service is why our customers keep coming back to us day after day.”
This up-to-the-minute sense of what is going on in the always-changing produce world is just as important as the ability to fill shorts in defining the modern wholesaler.
“Our customers count on us as a retail consultant to help in analyzing their product mix,” says Daniel Corsaro, director of sales and marketing at Indianapolis Fruit Company, Indianapolis. “We sell mainly to independent retailers, and their market has shifted during the past 18 to 24 months as customers are looking for quality products at competitive prices.”
Over the past 70 years, Indianapolis Fruit has built its business as a hub delivering fresh
ABOVE: PHOTO COURTESY OF J.E. RUSSELL; BELOW: PHOTO COURTESY OF JOHN VENA
SAVVY WHOLESALERS REMAIN ‘EYES AND EARS’ OF CUSTOMERS
In an age of consolidation, diversifying is the new path to survival and success. BY BOB JOHNSON
PRODUCE BUSINESS / MARCH 2019 / 41