Fall business surging for Twin Cities distributors

Leaves may be falling, but autumn sales for Twin Cities distributors certainly aren’t.

“Right now we’re going crazy,” said Ron Spychalla, operations manager for St. Paul, Minn.-based Northwestern Fruit Co. Inc., a 40-year-old family owned company.

Local commodities like zucchini, watermelon, yellow squash, pumpkins and corn are rolling into Northwestern Fruit from Minnesota and Wisconsin, Spychalla said.

“We try to support local as much as possible,” he said.

Most items will be available into October, but summer squash should be around until November.

Minneapolis-based Wholesale Produce Supply LLC continued to offer a number of summer items into the fall this year because of lingering mild temperatures, said Jason Hendrickson, vice president of procurement and business development.

“It looks like we’re having an extended local season this year,” he said.

The company still had commodities such as bell peppers and mini peppers well into September and was receiving increased supplies of potatoes and hard squashes as fall ramped up. On the organic side, the firm offers berries and tomatoes year-round, Hendrickson said.

About 75% of the business at fresh fruit and vegetable processor G.O. Fresh in Minneapolis is with foodservice customers, said Mark Remold, purchasing manager.

“Our strength has always been foodservice,” he said.

Vegetables like romaine lettuce and cabbage are the company’s mainstays, but G.O. Fresh also offers apples, cantaloupe, honeydews, watermelons and pineapples during this time of year.

“We’re seeing a nice little surge in business right now,” Remold said in late September.

The company tries to source locally when local product is available and when growers meet the firm’s quality standards, he said.

G.O. Fresh also is “dabbling a little bit” in organic produce, like avocados, kale mix and pre-cut coleslaw.

“We haven’t had a lot of requests for it, but it’s something we are looking at,” Remold said. “We’re hoping we see some growth in [organic] next year.”

St. Paul-based Co-op Partners Warehouse partners with 125 to 150 vendors regionally, nationally and from Mexico and Canada, said James Collins, senior director of supply chain.

The company provides retailers and foodservice operators with “everyday items” like broccoli and bananas year-round and offers seasonal items as well.

“We’re selling pumpkin bins right now,” he said in late September.

Apple volume and the number of apple varieties also increase in fall, including the Honeycrisp variety, which was developed at the University of Minnesota.

Locally grown kale, beets, fresh herbs, broccoli, cauliflower, red leaf and green leaf lettuces, green beans, turnips, beets and root vegetables are other fall items, he said.

“We are definitely seasonal,” Collins said.

Sales tend to dip from August through October, when consumers frequently patronize farmers markets, and they pick up again in November.

May, June and July are the company’s busiest months.

Business is stronger now at Northwestern Fruit than it was prior to the pandemic, Spychalla said — but some things are changing.

For one, more customers are placing their orders online rather than by phone. Online ordering may have its advantages, Spychalla said, but he refers the personal touch of a phone call.

“Then you can make sure you understand exactly what the customer wants,” he said.

Twin Cities suppliers continue to deal with inflation, Spychalla said.

“Inflation is as bad as it’s ever been,” he said. “Everything has gone up.”

The cost of fuel is “outrageous,” and that has led to higher prices for anything related to oil, including transparent packaging materials, Spychalla said.

Remold of G.O. Fresh said higher prices are caused by more than just inflation. Adverse growing conditions and bad weather in several growing areas have been frequent this year.

“A lot of the [price] increases in raw product are driven by those natural disasters,” he said.

There is good news on the foodservice side, said Hendrickson of Wholesale Produce Supply.

“Minneapolis seems to have a booming restaurant business,” he said.

Foodservice sales have rebounded from the pandemic slump and continue to hold strong, with the exception of the downtown area.

Many companies still have employees working remotely rather than coming into the office, he said, and that has prevented downtown eateries from making a full recovery.

“Outside of downtown, it seems to be awesome,” he said.