BRONX, N.Y. — The youngest generation handling business for their family companies at Hunts Point Produce Market weighed in on what trends they're seeing in the greater New York City area.
Foot and vehicle traffic at the market gate has dropped an average 7-10% from August 2020 to September 2021, market CEO and general manager Phillip Grant said.
Some of that could be attributed to the overall trend of customers wanting their orders delivered, rather than driving over to the market themselves, said Gabriela D'Arrigo, vice president of marketing and communications for D'Arrigo New York, at Hunts Point.
She expects retail business to continue to stay up the rest of the year, while restaurants continue to struggle.
Trucks back up to be loaded at Hunts Point Produce Market, Bronx, N.Y. Photo by Amy Sowder
“At the height of the pandemic, traffic coming in was down 25%, but delivery going out was way up,” D'Arrigo said. “When you're forced to do it, you're going to innovate, and some of that stuff is going to stay.”
D'Arrigo New York, along with other merchants, is still using plexiglass barriers at sales desks and stopped allowing customers to wander among the coolers and touch the produce. Drivers stay in their trucks.
“It made the terminal less congested. With less foot traffic in the coolers and on the docks, it increased efficiencies,” she said.
D'Arrigo installed a lot more GPS tracking and cameras in trucks, plus temperature recorders in storage vans that alert users when the temperature is off.
Customers are collaborating in ways they wouldn't normally, because of freight shortages. The bodegas and mom-and-pop shops of New York City “remain our bread and butter,” D'Arrigo said, and some people of similar cultures are collectively buying now, a growing trend.
Fancier specialty produce is coming back, and a lot of restaurants are loading their menus with healthy items, possibly because veganism is trending up, she said.
Another possible reason?
“People who have long-term effects of COVID are trying to change their lifestyles,” D'Arrigo said.
Stefanie Katzman, executive vice president of S. Katzman Produce, is also seeing the demand for healthy food in the general public but also with school nutrition requirements and increased budgets for produce in WIC and SNAP social service programs.
“This focus on food as a preventative measure, I think it will be great for the industry and consumers,” Katzman said. “I think it's a generational thing and a technology thing, giving them more insight on what's going on at the grower level, nutrition information and new recipes.”
S. Katzman Produce carries organic turmeric root. Photo by Amy Sowder
Specialty items with a higher price point are doing better, said Michael Armata, buyer and in management at E. Armata Fruit & Produce. And more shoppers want to buy produce by the piece, rather by weight.
“It's just a different way people are purchasing. You really have to know your customers, know what they want, what they like,” he said. “The more you understand people, the more you can learn how they want things done.”
The year 2021 has had a lot of challenges besides the ongoing pandemic. Read How Hunts Point weathers the storms and sunny days.