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MARKET PROFILE
The City Of Brotherly Love’s Unique Tapestry
Woven by geography, philadelphia’s multi-faceted consumers continue to shape its food culture.
SBy Jodean Robbins
ince its rebirth in the late 1990s, Phil- adelphia has continued to evolve and change as a city and marketplace. Demographics point to the growth of younger residents, especially Millen-
nials, as well as increasing ethnic and cultural in ux.
“ e general demographic trend of the city seems to be getting younger, more diverse and more vibrant,” says Dan Vena, sales with John Vena Inc. ( JVI). “Trends are also moving out of the center of the city and hitting fringe areas.”
Currently, 5.9 million people live in the 10-county region with the population antici- pated to reach 6.4 million by 2020, according to U.S. Census data. In 2000, 28% of the regional population was less than 20 years old, and 50% was between 20 and 54. Census data also forecasts 97% of the total popula- tion increase from 2000 to 2020 will be from non-white residents.
Philly’s diversity means catering to a host of demographics, explains Mike Maxwell, president of Procacci Brothers Sales Corpo- ration. “Philly’s neighborhoods are broken into demographic clusters, and the retailers re ect this. Walking the Philadelphia Whole- sale Produce Market (PWPM) showcases the diversity of items being brought in to address these di erent clusters.”
Philadelphia’s changing demographics bode well for the produce industry as trends push high-quality foodservice and greater neighborhood retail in uence. “Many more specialty stores are popping up,” says Rick Milavsky, president at BRS. “ is is a result of di erent neighborhoods growing and espe- cially younger people moving in.”
e city’s continued growth in ethnicity also in uences produce. “As ethnicity changes,
our customer base seems to go hand-in-hand with it,” says Filindo Colace, vice president operations for Ryeco. “I’ve seen the change over the past 30 years, but even more so in the past ve years.”
Rick Feighery, vice president of sales for Procacci Brothers, reports de nite added demand for tropical and specialties catering to the Hispanic demographic. “ at line is increasing in overall consumption and interest,” he says. “We’re also seeing customers asking for more speci c items by label, espe- cially in our Feliz line of products.”
Mark Levin, chief executive of M. Levin and Company, explains Philadelphia enjoys a sizeable population of Hispanic, Caribbean, Indian, Asian and Russian immigrants living and doing business in the region. “ ese customers come in looking for products they were using and eating in their home coun- tries,” he says. “Because of this, we have seen
Dominic Leo and Mike McCauley of Garden State (Procacci)
our largest area of growth within our ethnic and tropical divisions.”
CROWDED RETAIL LANDSCAPE
Such population in uences have resulted in a diverse retail marketplace in Philly — from international giants such as Lidl and Aldi, to the proving-ground of Giant’s new “neighborhood market” concept, to continued success of hundreds of small corner stores.
“Philly’s diverse retail climate keeps us competitive and thriving,” says Todd Penza, salesman with Pinto Brothers. “ e Philly retail market remains strong and diverse with a good variety of store formats.”
Tom Kovacevich, general manager at T.M. Kovacevich (TMK), says the retail customer base has expanded over the years. “We see more retail outlets in our region,” he says. “ e triangle of NYC to Harrisburg, PA, to Virginia has seen steady growth of retail
Neil Markovic, Stephen Secamiglio and Stephen Rinaldi of Colonial
PRODUCE BUSINESS / SEPTEMBER 2019 / 67
PHILADELPHIA