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levels of the fresh fruit and vegetable industry for six generations,” says Julian Sarraino, chief operating officer at Fresh Taste Produce, Ontario, Canada. “Our wholesale part of the business has always been built on service. We provide the customer with a degree of inven- tory agility that is crucial in perishables; they can order by the case or truckload.”
Canadian-based Fresh Taste sources fruits and vegetables from 25 countries in all corners of the world and ensures quality by taking ownership of the produce while it is still
growing, or even earlier.
For some longtime wholesalers serving
the largest supermarkets, it is not significantly different from serving their other customers.
“We sell to all the chains in the area; you do business with everybody,” says Dominic “Skip” Cavallaro, president of John Cerasuolo Co., Chelsea, MA. “The supermarkets call us every day, every other day. You give them a rundown of what you have, and they decide what they want.”
John Cerasuolo Co. started wholesaling
produce throughout the region in the 19th century; moved into the New England Produce Center in Chelsea when it open in the 1960s; and was purchased in the 1970s by brothers Ken and Skip Cavallaro, who handle a full line of vegetables from throughout the United States and Mexico.
“Everybody gets the same treatment,” says Cavallaro.“Yougiveeverybodytherightprice and take it from there.”
DIVERSIFY AND SURVIVE
With the nature of retail and foodservice produce procurement always changing, most successful wholesalers make a point of hedging their bets by keeping a diverse customer base.
“We sell to a lot of different people, to institutions, or small wholesalers, a whole mix,” says Rosenstein. “You can’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
Other wholesalers also have found that diversified markets are essential in this age of retail consolidation.
“We’ve spent a lot of time focusing on growth in new segments. The retail landscape has changed,” says Emily Kohlhas, director of marketing at John Vena Inc., Philadelphia. “We still do everything we can to serve inde- pendent retail and help them stay competitive, but the fact of the matter is there are fewer and fewer banners left. Luckily, we have a strong foundation in the foodservice and manufacturing segments that has helped keep us growing through the evolution.”
Vena has responded to the challenge by adding additional ripening services as well as specialty produce items.
“To stay competitive, we’ve been devel- oping add-ons that make us a one-stop shop — like custom ripening for bananas and avocados — as well as offbeat fruits like mangos, papayas and plantains; a product line that focuses on the newest players in the specialty market like Kiwano, Quenepa or Sumo citrus; and custom repacking of niche items,” says Kohlhas.
Even diversified wholesalers notice their customers in all produce segments are consol- idating their buying operations.
“We sell to everybody all the time,” says Maxwell. “To the major supermarket chains, the box stores, groups with 300 independents. We’re pretty much in the trenches. We try to earn new customers every day. There has been consolidation in the retail business. Today, we’re dealing with buyers. Before, it was more of a regional thing.”
Because they sell to a variety of customers, wholesalers should be mindful each have
46 / MARCH 2019 / PRODUCE BUSINESS