Located a stone’s throw from Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx, N.Y., Baldor Specialty Foods is another company with produce roots that run deep.
Beginning as Balducci’s fruit stand in Greenwich Village in 1946, today Baldor is one of the largest importers and distributors of fresh produce and specialty foods in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.
Baldor partners with more than 1,000 farms to fuel its full-service catalog of more than 6,000 items and 1,000 fresh-cut options. It currently has warehouses in Boston, Washington, D.C., and New York, and the company is scheduled to open a new hub in the D.C. area in April 2024, Kenneth Bower, director of merchandising vegetables, told The Packer.
Servicing a wide range of retail, foodservice and institutional customers, Baldor has its finger on the pulse of trends in specialty produce.
Value-added and convenience were key themes this year, Bower says.
“The clamshell salad section continues to expand with new blends, kits and flavors to satisfy the most sophisticated home chef,” he said.
And labor-saving convenience remains top of mind in foodservice.
“Restaurants can’t afford to bring a team in early morning to prep for the next service; hence less ‘raw’ product and more ‘finished goods’ are in demand,” Bower says. “Items like snipped beans, peeled carrots, cleaned cilantro, de-veined and de-stemmed kale, chopped romaine, cored peppers, broccoli and cauliflower florets and peeled potatoes offer great value, consistency and labor relief.”
Baldor’s in-house Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point or HACCP-accredited fresh-cut division cleans and cuts the same whole produce the company stocks and sells each day, says Bower, who adds that this ensures its value-added items are processed and packaged under maximum safety standards.
Top produce trends in 2024
The Packer asked Bower for his hot produce predictions for the year ahead. “Flavor trumps everything — it has to taste good,” he said. But under the flavor umbrella, here’s what Baldor Specialty Foods sees trending:
- Local leads — Demand for local and regional produce is not going away. “Growing our local vendor base and menu of offerings has been and continues to be a huge initiative of ours,” he said.
- Mushroom mania — “The mushroom category has performed well,” says Bower, who sees this trend continuing. “The health benefits are being celebrated more and more and we are seeing browns outpace whites with creminis and maitakes leading the way. Lion’s mane is another variety that we believe will gain in popularity in 2024 — this could be the next maitake.”
- Hot stuff — “Heat is neat and consumer demand for chili peppers is on the rise,” says Bower.
- Small potatoes — Small potatoes are actually a big deal. Bower sees creamer/baby potatoes and fingerling varieties gaining in popularity both at home and at retail. “Taste, reduced cook time and versatility make these a great selection,” he says.
- Baby on board — Additionally, Bower sees growth in other baby varietals such as broccolini, caulilini and Persian cucumbers. “Tender leaf items like spring mix blends, baby kales, baby spinach and wild arugula continue to be category leaders as chefs can use them as a base or starter and then get creative,” he says. “The baby head ‘gem’ category is also seeing great growth.”
While some trends evolve and others come and go, “at the end of the day, consumers want produce that tastes good, is safe and has been responsibly grown and sourced,” Bower said.