Beantown’s two terminal markets, the Boston Market Terminal (BMT) and the New England Produce Center (NEPC), are prime junctions for the freshest produce and newest trends the industry has to offer. From ethnic specialties to traditional mainstays, read on to discover what’s trending and transforming at the City on the Hill’s two markets.
Trending in ‘The Hub’ Whether it’s new packaging, chopped or diced favorites, or stalwarts like lettuce and celery, Boston merchants have it all and continue to provide East Coast retailers, restaurants, and institutional customers with everything they need.
Adding Value Value-added products and packaging continue to garner popularity both on the consumer level and for wholesale customers. In the wholesale world, ‘value-added’ falls under any packaging with greater benefit, from case structure to quantity per case to traceability, according to Scott Wilson, president of Wilson Farm, Inc. in Lexington, MA.
“Value-added and prepared products continue to be very strong for us,” Wilson says. However, added convenience inherently creates more packaging. To lessen the impact, they’ve turned to environmentally-conscious alternatives, making it a priority for packaging to be recyclable with reusable options for the consumer like resealable bags or clamshells that can be repurposed.
Anthony Sharrino, president of Eaton & Eustis Company, which sells onions, garlic, dried fruit, and nuts at the NEPC, has seen a higher demand for fresh and peeled garlic, as well as dried fruit. “It’s year-round now; many years ago, after Christmas, you couldn’t give it away,” he says of the longtime company’s dried fruit line. “People have changed their eating habits.”
Garden Fresh Salad Company, Inc. has seen an increased desire for cabbage mixes and salads that integrate popular superfoods. Patrick Burke, sales manager, says many customers are hunting down blends with high-powered greens. “We’ve seen more orders for plain chopped kale and broccoli slaw,” he says. “People are really asking for those.”
John Cerasuolo Company, Inc. sources a large stream of vegetables from Mexican, Californian, and Canadian greenhouses, with green and red peppers as the top sellers, according to president Dominic Cavallaro. Although the flow of product from greenhouses fluctuates throughout the year, summer is the busiest time, making up nearly half of the wholesaler’s fresh produce.
Ethnic & Organic Items Ethnic populations also continue to be big drivers of market demand. Steven Piazza, president of Community-Suffolk, Inc., who sells on the BMT, shares that Boston’s sizeable Spanish, Russian, and Asian populations shop the market three to four times per week to supply “small inner city stores because they don’t warehouse product.”
Beantown’s two terminal markets, the Boston Market Terminal (BMT) and the New England Produce Center (NEPC), are prime junctions for the freshest produce and newest trends the industry has to offer. From ethnic specialties to traditional mainstays, read on to discover what’s trending and transforming at the City on the Hill’s two markets.
Trending in ‘The Hub’ Whether it’s new packaging, chopped or diced favorites, or stalwarts like lettuce and celery, Boston merchants have it all and continue to provide East Coast retailers, restaurants, and institutional customers with everything they need.
Adding Value Value-added products and packaging continue to garner popularity both on the consumer level and for wholesale customers. In the wholesale world, ‘value-added’ falls under any packaging with greater benefit, from case structure to quantity per case to traceability, according to Scott Wilson, president of Wilson Farm, Inc. in Lexington, MA.
“Value-added and prepared products continue to be very strong for us,” Wilson says. However, added convenience inherently creates more packaging. To lessen the impact, they’ve turned to environmentally-conscious alternatives, making it a priority for packaging to be recyclable with reusable options for the consumer like resealable bags or clamshells that can be repurposed.
Anthony Sharrino, president of Eaton & Eustis Company, which sells onions, garlic, dried fruit, and nuts at the NEPC, has seen a higher demand for fresh and peeled garlic, as well as dried fruit. “It’s year-round now; many years ago, after Christmas, you couldn’t give it away,” he says of the longtime company’s dried fruit line. “People have changed their eating habits.”
Garden Fresh Salad Company, Inc. has seen an increased desire for cabbage mixes and salads that integrate popular superfoods. Patrick Burke, sales manager, says many customers are hunting down blends with high-powered greens. “We’ve seen more orders for plain chopped kale and broccoli slaw,” he says. “People are really asking for those.”
John Cerasuolo Company, Inc. sources a large stream of vegetables from Mexican, Californian, and Canadian greenhouses, with green and red peppers as the top sellers, according to president Dominic Cavallaro. Although the flow of product from greenhouses fluctuates throughout the year, summer is the busiest time, making up nearly half of the wholesaler’s fresh produce.
Ethnic & Organic Items Ethnic populations also continue to be big drivers of market demand. Steven Piazza, president of Community-Suffolk, Inc., who sells on the BMT, shares that Boston’s sizeable Spanish, Russian, and Asian populations shop the market three to four times per week to supply “small inner city stores because they don’t warehouse product.”
Although Peter John Condakes, president of Peter Condakes Company, Inc. on the BMT, notes ethnic produce has been a consistent trend for the past 30 years, Wilson has observed a “funny phenomenon” occurring. Despite the continued rise of Asian and Latino products at retail levels, he’s noticed younger generations becoming more open to purchasing foods that are traditionally rooted in the United States. “I’ve seen enormous growth still occurring, but I also see some of those customers who have been staunch users of ethnic products start to incorporate a combination of more traditional U.S. items,” Wilson explains, such as squash, zucchini, and beans.
Condakes notes that organics may garner plenty of attention with consumers, but they haven’t performed well at the terminal market. “Organics evolved in the last 15 to 20 years,” he says, but bypassed wholesalers, going direct to the retail and restaurant sector.
Richie Travers, co-owner of Travers Fruit Company, Inc. of the NEPC, agrees, acknowledging the retail side of the coin. “Everyone wants to compete with Whole Foods.” Of course, how much or how little Whole Foods will change with Amazon as a corporate parent remains to be seen.
Ups and Downs In the early summer, Community-Suffolk, Inc. was mostly exporting carrots and cabbage to Canada, before the True North’s own crops came into harvest and availability. While Piazza says the company has been fortunate with a good supply for most everything it sources, every season has unexpected weather events that cause problems.
“Celery, broccoli, and lettuce went crazy for a while,” Piazza remarks, due to California’s torrential rains earlier in the year. “All the rain caused gaps in planting, which created gaps in supply and spiked the price.”
Although Wilson Farm is deeply involved in both wholesale and retail, the supplier and its employees still see themselves as “truly farmers,” with 500 acres in Litchfield, NH and the original farm (in operation since 1884) in Lexington, MA. Wilson says their crops change based on customer demand.
This year the grower expanded acreage for leeks and Brussels sprouts, but cut back on a few other commodities like zucchini, summer squash, and beans that weren’t selling as well previously.
Technologically Flexible Business on the markets is all about being flexible and adapting to technology to meet customer needs. From simple to complex, merchants at the markets are keeping an eye on the future from eco-friendly upgrades to new venues for promoting and selling product.
Facility Changes Both markets are steadily transforming physical space with a firm nod to sustainability and energy efficiency. At the BMT, merchants segregate the composting, recycling, and trash that the facility produces, according to Piazza. The market has also installed a pallet crusher to recycle material, which is then sold to a paper mill for fuel. Lights are changing too, from bulbs to high efficiency LEDs, and Piazza says wholesalers are “working with National Grid (Boston’s local electrical company) to evaluate motors in all the coolers.”
For the NEPC, Condakes highlights “the possibility of putting solar panels on the roof of the entire market,” which would be a sizeable but energy saving project.
Garden Fresh Salad Company has done its part in the sustainability sphere as well, with its ‘Big Three’ green measures: “All of our wet waste goes to pig farmers, we recycle all cardboard boxes that come in, and we have all LED lighting throughout our warehouses,” shares Burke.
FRESH FORUM How has business this year compared to last year – what, if anything, has changed?
Steven Piazza, Community-Suffolk, Inc. It’s equal, if not better. We consistently handle the same lines and don’t deviate from the ones we do handle, and try to be better than anyone else in Boston.
Anthony Sharrino, Eaton & Eustis Company Increasing incrementally every year; prices go up and down, nothing has changed though, it’s still Economics 101.
Patrick Burke, Garden Fresh Salad Company, Inc. Overall, it’s the same. It’s busier when the markets are tighter with stuff like we had in April and May. Lettuces were all expensive and tight, which makes it busier. And when it’s more scattered, it tends to be slower. It’s typical supply and demand going on here.
Dominic Cavallaro, John Cerasuolo Company, Inc. It changes every year; it’s up and down. It all depends on the type of year—you just never know.
Peter John Condakes, Peter Condakes Company, Inc. Given all the challenges, we’re holding our own, but we aren’t growing. I’d say it’s about even with last year to maybe slightly down.
Richie Travers, Travers Fruit Company, Inc. We’re rocking along; happy where we are, and with what we’re doing. We always welcome new business and chase after it. We’re almost six years old, and hope it keeps growing every year.
Scott Wilson, Wilson Farms, Inc. We’re packaging more products than previous years, including our own packaged peppers in numerous shapes and sized packs. We introduced unique as well as custom labels, something we do now for customers—and that has helped business.
Modes of Selling For the Travers Fruit Company, change has meant transitioning from phone calls and faxes to emails and texts. “We use [technology] as it comes forward—whatever our customers are comfortable with,” says Travers.
For Wilson Farms, exploring social media is key. “For retail, we have a large social media presence,” Wilson says, referring to the grower-shipper’s Instagram, Twitter, Face-book, and newsletter platforms. The company is also working on a mobile app, as well as tracking other developments such as online ordering and delivery.
Wilson Farms now has an employee dedicated to investigating new developments, spending part of each day monitoring companies like Blue Apron, Plated, Hello Fresh, and Amazon. The advent of online selling has both pros and cons, depending on where one sits in the supply chain. “For wholesale, it’s a unique customer,” Wilson says, “but on the retail side, it’s a concern because we’re losing potential customers.” For now, the supplier is watching and waiting to see how the virtual realm of produce shopping will evolve.
The Challenges For those on the market, challenges run the gamut from transportation and weather to food safety regulations and price competition. The first half of the year was grim for some on the Boston markets.
“Challenge is constant,” says Travers, and this can be “weather conditions in the growing area, weather conditions in this area, transportation, or market demand,” he says. What’s more, Travers points out, it can be on a monthly, weekly, daily, or even hourly basis. Though it makes wholesaling difficult, there is a silver lining: buying and selling is never dull, and change keeps the industry evolving and moving forward.
Revolving Regulations A consistent hurdle has been ever changing regulations, which seem to be ubiquitous from the “local board of health to state to federal,” comments Wilson. On the import side, there is the possibility of increased taxation, and the lack of uniform regulations between different towns and states also presents challenges. Such changes put a strain on businesses. “When you’re working at such low margins, it’s very hard to put more costs on top,” he contends.
Merchants are concerned about the paperwork required for new food safety rules, variations due to size and location, even the impact some changes will have on older facilities. Regardless, it’s all about keeping customers happy. Wilson looks forward to the day when food safety “will be more uniform, so we’re all on the same page.”
Price Wars Although Boston has a thriving restaurant scene, lower prices have caused concern. “Restaurants are always looking for new and different items, and the latest and greatest in appearance and flavors, but want to reduce plate cost while keeping everyone healthy,” comments Piazza.
Condakes has battled oversupply on many commodities, and “general deflation affecting the food business.” From grocery stores to restaurants to wholesale, “everyone is waiting for a lower price on everything,” he observes, which squeezes those on the market.
A case in point is the rising popularity of a place called Restaurant Depot, where foodservice customers can buy both canned goods and fresh produce in one stop. Saving time and money is key, he says, and worries about being able to maintain volume at adequate prices.
Ripening Market Viability Despite the challenges, ongoing or new, Sharrino says it’s “steady as she goes; we come in everyday, do what we do best, and take care of our customers just as we’ve been doing for 30 years.”
Wilson sees the terminal markets in Boston as “more viable than ever” with retailers once again recognizing the merits of buying from wholesalers due to the scope of their offerings. Buyers, he says, can “shop at 20 different vendors and view 30 to 40 different labels and quality of the same product.”
Better yet, Wilson notes, “They can take advantage of seeing the product, negotiating, and buying close to home instead of just picking up a phone to order.”
In the end, most of the merchants view the ups and downs as part of the industry, and believe business is on the rebound.
Images: Blend Images, luisrsphoto, Alexander Raths/Shutterstock.com
