Page 74 - index

DES MOINES MARKET PROFILE
taverns are independently owned. Organiza- tion professionals estimate about 60 percent of restaurants in Des Moines are inde- pendently owned versus 40 percent chain.
Of these, the “2018 Best of Des Moines” awards published by Johnsonville, IA-based news magazine CityView include everything from Australian- to American-style steaks, seafoods and burgers, plus Italian, Latin and several Asian cuisines such as Chinese, Japa- nese, Thai and Vietnamese. Joe Tripp, chef and co-owner of Harbinger, an Asian-in- spired and vegetable-focused small plates restaurant, was named a semifinalist for Best Midwest Chef by the James Beard Founda- tion for the third year in a row.
“The Des Moines restaurant scene is very much on track with national trends,” says Katelyn Adams, public relations specialist for the Iowa Restaurant Association. “Gen Xers and Millennials are controlling the climate and are demanding healthy menu options. Fresh produce, fresh fruit and a farm-to- table/local-sourcing mentality are all highly sought after by consumers. With so much incredible farmland spanning the state, our consumers are in luck. Farm-to-table and locally sourced products are often right in our backyard.”
WHOLESALE OPPORTUNITIES
The closest terminal produce market is five hours and 330 miles away in Chicago. Des Moines does have its Downtown Farmers’ Market, which is open every Saturday from early May to the end of October. It features more than 300 farmers including those selling fresh produce, spans nine city blocks of the Historic Court District and welcomes some 25,000 shoppers each weekend. Quanti- ties here are not large. Instead, retailers and restaurateurs look to other sources such as the region’s wholesalers and delivery services.
“Large retailers look for partners to assist with the harder commodities and with mixed loads, so they can spend time on the many SKUs they manage day to day,” says Capital City Fruit’s Addison. “Providing value in the supply chain is what we do. We supply key items that take a lot of time and effort and supply value-added products, making it conve- nient for their shoppers who are on the go.”
“Small chains normally have fewer resources and less buying power than a company like us. We help these retailers to be successful by supplying them with consistent quality items that turn quickly and in turn helps reduce their shrink. Smaller-pack sizes for some items they are unable to sell in full-
74/ AUGUST 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS
case volume allows them to lower shrink and actually increase sales. We work closely with our customers to understand each one’s indi- vidual needs and customize a solution that exactly meets their needs.”
Since Des Moines is not a highly popu- lated area compared with nearby communities such as Minneapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis and Chicago, Addison says the company’s success lies more on providing supply chain management solutions rather than purchasing produce on the open market and then trying to sell it to its customers. This reduces waste, he says, and allows for a better value offering to customers that demand consistency and quality above everything else. One of the biggest challenges for suppliers in, and to, the Des Moines market is transportation.
“Transportation is a hot topic,” says Ron Petersen, owner and president of Summer- time Potato Company, a Des Moines, IA-based grower, packer and shipper of local and Midwest regional potatoes. “We don’t have to traverse the entirety of coast to coast, but then again we do have to bring most products, domestic or imported, into the market.”
Capital City Fruit’s Addison agrees but says, “Des Moines has a significant disadvan- tage when it comes to freight. Being in the Midwest, it is many times more challenging to obtain the freight capacity needed to keep transportation costs down. The recent hours of service and electronic driver log changes have caused a lot of issues in this area. We are fortunate to have a long-term partnership with key carriers who understand the up-and- down nature of freight rates and work with us to be fair and consistent at all times.”
One of the biggest opportunities lies in locally and regionally grown produce.
“Local produce has continued to be a large buying factor,” says Chris Boothe, vice president of produce purchasing for Fareway Stores. “The confidence to purchase fresh produce is greater knowing it is local and where it is sourced from. Organics also continuetogrowinthemarket.Weareseeing more local growers providing organics. Value- added produce items continue to be relevant with consumers. We are also exploring fresh, convenient items, that customers are looking for; with HelloFresh coming to area stores this summer.” pb
GRASS ROOTS DELIVERY
Local, organic and value-added is the type of product procured and delivered by FarmTable Delivery, a Harlan, IA-based company started by grower and restaura- teur, Ellen Walsh-Rosmann in 2013.
“The East and West Coasts have the advantage of lots of little trucks that bounce around to collect and deliver produce, but not here in the Midwest,” says Walsh-Ros- mann. “We do this with our refrigerated truck. Pickups are on Wednesdays — from eight to 10 growers in Iowa, and one in Nebraska — and then we take the produce back to our 6,000-square-foot facility to pack the orders. Mostly it’s vegetables like collards, kale, chard and tomatoes, grapes, slicers and heirlooms for retail. Some growers will plant heirloom tomatoes in high tunnels in February to sell in May before the market is flooded. We don’t sell too much fruit. The margin for fruit is so thin growers do better selling it at their own stand or the Farmers’ Market. The chefs want more unique items like squash blossoms, pea tendrils, anise, hyssop and aronia berries in the fall.”
FarmTable makes deliveries to retailers
and restaurants in Des Moines on Thurs- days and Omaha on Fridays. The company has an active social media presence and tags the name of these establishments after a delivery to let the public know what’s in-store or on the menu and where.
In the next year, Walsh-Rosmann hopes to add a loading dock, as well as equip- ment for washing and packaging produce and a kitchen for value-added fresh cuts.
“Our retail consumers like Hy-Vee, Fareway and Gateway are always looking for something that adds convenience and value for their customers. Therefore, we’ve started offering new easy-to-merchandise items like three heads of garlic in a bag, a 2.5-pound bag of finger potatoes and washed, bunched and bagged greens. In the future, we plan to add products like coined carrots and French fry-cut sweet potatoes,” says Walsh-Rosmann.
The Des Moines-based Iowa Depart- ment of Agriculture and Land Steward- ship does not have a statewide marketing brand for its fruits and vegetables.
“This is something a group of us are working on,” says Walsh-Rosmann. pb