Fresh Produce: A New York State of Mind

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

Buyers can have it all from New York growers: variety, freshness, closer transport and a local marketing pitch.

New York’s diverse geography and market proximity present an advantage for buyers looking to source a range of local products.

“Many people don’t realize how big a player New York is in the produce business,” says Richard A. Ball, commissioner of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets in Albany, NY. “We rank in the top 10 nationally in over 30 different commodities. We offer a lot of products throughout a ‘local’ season. We’re a vast cornucopia.”

New York is an agricultural mecca during the growing season, agrees Brandon Bentley, category manager for Northeast Shared Services in Buffalo, NY, with 300 stores. And that means stores have a fresh produce arsenal right in their backyard.

“While New York City is known as the Big Apple, the commodities do not stop there,” he says. “Lettuce, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, corn — almost anything is readily available at some point.”

New York also sells beyond regional and local markets. Ball mentions New York produce is shipped far and wide — to St. Louis, Chicago, Florida, and up and down the East Coast.

“Recently, I was meeting and looking at emerging opportunities overseas such as the U.K., Kenya and Pacific Rim,” he says. “There is a lot of potential at the international level, but there is also a lot of opportunity right here on the Eastern Seaboard, as more consumers value regional production.”

SnapDragon apples were in 46 states at the peak of the season, says Jessica Wells, executive director at Crunch Time Apple Growers in Lockport, NY. “While the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast are obvious markets for our apples and other produce, due to proximity, we are certainly capable and willing to ship anywhere.”

Demands for freshness, flavor, and sustainability play in New York’s favor. “Customers believe in local, we believe in local,” says Bentley. “Not just because of all the great reasons to save with taking miles out for quality, cost, or even pollution, but because local is where we live; our children work on these farms; our friends buy those products in our stores.”

New York production, along with other Northeast states, will continue to expand and grow because the demand for local produce continues to rise, says Kimberly Kuusela, local merchandising specialist for Hannaford Supermarkets, in Scarborough, ME, with 189 stores throughout Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.

“The strong partnerships we have with our local growers allow us to plan and increase our offerings thoughtfully,” she says.

Promoting New York-grown produce has many advantages, agrees Diane Shulman, president and owner of Jerry Shulman Produce Shipper in Levittown, NY. “New York State produce can be promoted as locally grown, and it has a freshness and sustainability aspect because of the close transport.”

BOUNTIFUL HARVEST

New York offers a wide variety of fruit and vegetables during interchanging seasons, from greens and leaf lettuces to cauliflower and broccoli to tomatoes and apples. According to Ball, the state produces approximately 32 vegetable commodities, with significant production of potatoes, beans, peas, carrots, cabbage, squash, cucumber, peppers and pumpkins.

Gabriela D’Arrigo, vice president of marketing and communications at D’Arrigo New York in Bronx, NY, points out availability of blueberries, sweet corn, and various vegetables grown during the local season. “Leafy green items and berries are strong, as well as other greens, squash and apples,” she says.

Hannaford handles a variety of in-season items sold directly from its farmer partners, such as Pennrose, Mastronardi, Red Jacket and others, to stores and through its warehouse, says Kuusela. “Pennrose provides our New York warehouse locally grown Brussels sprouts. Along with that, some of our highest volume items include tomatoes, lettuce corn, apples, cider, strawberries, and summer veg, such as cucumbers, summer squash and zucchini.”

Produce items from New York handled at Highland Park Market in Farmington, CT, with three stores, include apples, such as Macintosh, Cortland, Empire and Macoun. The markets also carry greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers from Mastronardi Produce and lettuce and basil from Gotham Greens, says Brian Gibbons, produce director.

Sweet corn is the biggest crop for Turek Farms/Cayuga Produce in King Ferry, NY. It also does significant volume in cabbage, summer squash, winter squash, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, pumpkins and cauliflower, says Jason Turek, owner. “The products all have varied seasonality, but our harvest usually starts in early July and finishes around the first of December.”

LESS PROMINENT ITEMS

Buyers are encouraged to think beyond the better-known items to expand their local New York offering. “Stores should be looking for new items,” says D’Arrigo. “Make sure you’re communicating with your sales rep and looking toward what’s coming up in the future. Don’t get a tunnel vision, which is human nature, to just do what you’ve always done.”

New products, new ideas, and new crops are being developed, and specialty growers are getting more comfortable with catering to specific demographics, explains Commissioner Ball. “I see more new things coming off New York farms than were contemplated years ago,” he says. “Generally, our growers in the vegetable and fruit industry are very resilient and very responsive to trends in the marketplace.”

Though Shulman handles a lot of Long Island potatoes, the company offers a plethora of other items. “We have cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, corn, spinach, and strawberries from Long Island,” says Shulman. “We also work with growers upstate on roots, spinach, onions, potatoes and apples. We see more unique crops being grown, such as cilantro, sweet potatoes, turnip greens and mustard.”

At Gotham Greens’ three New York State greenhouse facilities, the company primarily grows leafy greens and herbs, and it recently launched a new line of salad kits in three flavors, says Viraj Puri, co-founder and chief executive of Gotham Greens in Brooklyn, NY.

“The kits feature fresh ingredients, including Gotham Greens greenhouse-grown lettuce and premium toppings and dressings, for convenient, home-cooked meals or lunches on the go. Additionally, we are always conducting R&D on new leafy green and herb varieties.”

“Our New York-grown products can be found throughout the New York tri-state area,” says Puri.

EXTENDING THE LOCAL SEASON

Continued expansion of greenhouse technology provides greater availability of New York product. “Being able to control what traditional production has not been able to is the future, and the innovation is mind-blowing,” says Commissioner Ball. “I’ve visited two of our star greenhouse operations in the past few years and both are adding on acres.”

Controlled Environment Agriculture, or CEA, is critical to helping increase access to locally grown produce in the Northeast, “with reduced food miles and a consistency our communities can depend on,” says Hannaford’s Kuusela.

“Partnerships, such as ours with Mastronardi, allow us to offer strawberries and tomatoes grown from their New York facility even in the non-growing season throughout our 189-store network,” she says.

Mastronardi grows several Sunset and Backyard Farms items in its 60-acre high-tech greenhouse located in Oneida, NY. “Even in the middle of a New York winter, consumers can enjoy our delicious Wow Berries strawberries, our award-winning Bombs tomatoes, tomatoes on the vine and fresh English cucumbers,” says Peppe Bonfiglio, vice president of sales.

I see more new things coming off New York farms than were contemplated years ago.

– Richard A. Ball, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Albany, NY

In 2023, Mastronardi Produce expanded New York operations through a joint venture with Intergrow Greenhouses, adding 105 acres of high-tech greenhouses and a trucking business. The new company, Sungrow Farms, has further capacity for expansion.

“This strategic investment allows us to offer even more flavorful, locally grown fruits and vegetables,” says Paul Mastronardi, president and chief executive.

Gotham Greens, which started as a single rooftop greenhouse in Brooklyn, NY, has grown to become one of the largest greenhouse lettuce producers in North America.

“Last year, we brought our footprint to more than 40 acres (1.8 million square feet) of hydroponic greenhouses at 13 locations in nine states from coast to coast,” says Puri.

CLOSE TO MARKET

Freshness and cost play an increasing role in the benefits New York growers offer buyers. “The pandemic showed us that we need a foodshed closer to market,” says Ball. “We can’t be dependent on backed-up trailer trucks.”

Location and proximity to a large part of the U.S. population is a huge advantage, explains Turek of Turek Farms. “We can pick and cool a crop early in the morning and have it at the distribution center and out to stores that evening.”

D’Arrigo New York sees a greater push for promoting local, especially with inflation and cost of transportation. “Shopping local can be more affordable, so we see customers promoting it more,” says D’Arrigo. “Price-point matters so much now, and transportation is a big part of it.”

Mastronardi’s New York-grown fruits and veggies are delivered fresh from greenhouse to grocer within a few hours, says Bonfiglio. “That means fresher, more flavorful produce for New Yorkers and fewer CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions as well.”

AMPLE PROMOTION

New York offers a myriad of promotional programs and resources. The NYS Grown & Certified program is the first statewide, multi-faceted food certification program to help consumers identify local, safely handled, and environmentally responsible agricultural products, according to Ball.

“More growers are getting involved, and we’ll be doing more extensive marketing efforts this year,” he says. “Additionally, our TasteNY program provides an opportunity for travelers to stop in and see what New York ag has to offer.”

Gotham Greens values its NYS Grown & Certified participation as well as its own marketing efforts. “Our retail partners showcase that Gotham Greens’ products are grown locally and sustainably through a variety of marketing vehicles, including in-store signage and digital marketing channels,” says Puri.

At Hannaford, local tags and signs can be found throughout its stores. “New York-grown product is labeled with a specific sign highlighting the grower’s name and the city,” says Kuusela. “For New York, we also seek to highlight when those producers and farmers are a part of the NYS Grown & Certified program. Besides in-store point-of-sale signage, we look to highlight local producers and farmers in our flyer and social media a few times throughout the year.”

Mastronardi works closely with retail partners to support locally grown programs. “We educate produce managers, help produce informative videos, and participate in both consumer and industry-facing publications,” says Bonfiglio.

• • •

NY Apples Sweeten Sales

With over 600 commercial apple growers across the state, New York is one of the largest apple producers in the U.S. “New York always sits within the top three states for apples in the U.S.,” says James Williams, business development at United Apple Sales in Lyndonville, NY. “With advances in storage technology, we’re able to pack and ship fresh apples all year long.”

According to the New York Apple Association (NYAA) in Fishers, NY, early varieties are typically available as early as the third week of August. “Some of the early varieties this year will include Ginger Gold, Paula Red and Premier Honeycrisp,” says Cynthia Haskins, president and chief executive. “Following closely after these, some of the apple shippers will have Jersey Mac and Zestar varieties ready. Popular varieties such as Gala, Empire, Fuji, Macoun, McIntosh, Honeycrisp Snapdragon, SweeTango and others will be ready for distribution and promotion as the new crop season progresses.”

Commercially sold SnapDragon and RubyFrost apples, developed by Cornell University, are currently exclusively grown by New York State growers and marketed by Crunch Time Apple Growers. SnapDragon apples are harvested in mid- to late-September and are immediately available to retailers says Wells. RubyFrost apples are harvested in mid-October and typically available to retailers in mid-November

Varietals at Yes! Apples in Glenmont, NY, include familiar apples, such as Fuji and Honeycrisp, newcomers such as SweeTango and EverCrisp, and New York exclusives such as SnapDragon, according to Tenley Fitzgerald, vice president of marketing.

Fowler Farms, in Wolcott, NY, carries heirloom varieties, such as Empires and Cortlands, that are niche for the Northeast. “As the population from the Northeast has shifted to the South, so has the demand for these Northeast varieties,” says Austin Fowler, vice president. “So, we’ve seen an interesting shift to wider geographic demand for varieties previously considered to be more regional.”

The apple industry continues to innovate. Marcus Albinder, operations manager at Hudson River Fruit Distributors in Milton, NY, explains advancements are underway within packing facilities, as some companies integrate AI technology into grading systems.

“By harnessing AI capabilities, these systems can enhance their ability to sort for quality and swiftly make precise decisions, ultimately optimizing machine efficiency,” he says. “While AI adoption is still in its early stages, those who are utilizing it have reported great success.”

On the marketing and merchandising front, Hudson River Fruit has introduced a new 5-pound Apple Pouch, with an innovative packaging design, says Albinder.

“With a cleverly crafted basket at the bottom, it offers a visual and tactile representation of the orchard-fresh experience. This design not only elevates aesthetics, but also fosters a sense of authenticity, establishing a direct connection between consumers and the origin of the apples.”

FEWER ROAD MILES

New York State apple packing houses are located closer to major U.S. population centers, which reduces fuel costs and emissions, explains Haskins.

“With shorter trips for distribution, New York apple shippers drive sustainable progress, literally,” she says, adding NYAA is working to remind East Coast school foodservice directors and foodservice distributor buyers that “New York is a closer choice.”

Close proximity to high penetration markets on the East Coast makes New York apples the perfect choice for Northeast retailers, asserts Fitzgerald of Yes! Apples.

“Consumers can reduce their food miles from orchard to shelf,” she says. “As the global community aims to tamp emissions and reduce carbon footprint, reducing food miles is a way for our retail partners’ customers to make an impact.”

New York also offers shorter lead times to both domestic and global customers. “Florida is just a two-day ride south,” says United Apple Sales’ Williams. “The Dominican Republic is just 14 to 16 days on the water, and India is as little as 28 days out of the port of New York.”

According to Haskins, the New York Apple Association’s marketing and public relations plan for the 2024-25 crop year is already underway. This year, NYAA is offering point-of-sale materials for retail partners to encourage large displays of New York apples.

“Display merchandisers, orchard bins, price cards, and more are available to order via our website,” says Haskins. “NYAA is also reaching out to retail partners to secure geo-targeting advertising to complement in-store and digital promotions.”