Family-owned apple shipper celebrates six decades in operation

When Milton, N.Y.-based Hudson River Fruit Distributors kicks off its new season in August, it will mark the 60th year the company has been shipping apples to retailers and some foodservice establishments throughout New York and into the Midwest, said Alisha Albinder Camac, vice president of sales and marketing.

The family-owned business ships more than two dozen apple varieties and will start the season with some specialty offerings: EverCrisp, SnapDragon and RubyFrost.

There’s also a strong following for its extensive assortment of core varieties, like Honeycrisp, gala, fuji and mcintosh.

Albinder Carnac expects a good crop this year.

“We’re getting a lot of rain right now,” she said in late June, and the precipitation should help the fruit size up and provide needed nutrients.

This will be one of the first years Hudson River Fruit Distributors will ship gala, red delicious, fuji and mcintosh apples year-round, she said.

Although the principle of growing, selling and distributing apples remains the same, the business has changed over the years.

“It’s a lot more complex than it was 60 years ago,” Albinder Camac said.

For example, a lot more varieties are available, and packaging options abound.

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“Sixty years ago, there were trays, 3-pound bags and 5-pound bags,” she said.

Those options still exist, but numerous others have been added, including pouches, 2-pound packs and even clamshell containers.

New varieties also have come on the scene that offer better quality and maintain their taste longer than previous offerings.

“The eating experience for the customer is a lot better today than it was 60 years ago,” she said.

The company has 450 acres of its own but also represents thousands of acres throughout New York through long-term partnerships, some of which date back to the 1930s and 1940s, before Hudson River Fruit was formally established.

“Our family business keeps supporting other family businesses and a network of other growers and multigenerational farms,” she said.

The firm packs 2 million boxes each year, has storage locations throughout the state and opened a new warehouse at its home farm last August that has a capacity of 100,000 boxes.

Albinder Camac attributes much of the company’s success to its “hands-on approach and our ability to be integrated with our customers and supply base at the same time.”

Family members, like her father, CEO Daniel Albinder, and brother, Marcus Albinder, sales and logistics coordinator, spend time visiting farms and customers to determine what their needs are, she said.

“We’re a family-run company,” she said. “We’re involved every step of the way.”

Customers range from large retailers to small local markets.

“We’re a boutique apple shipper,” she said, “but we have a lot of capacity.”