There have been a couple of significant changes in St. Louis this fall as produce distributors gear up for the holidays.
Midwest Best Produce has a new owner, and the Lange Family of Cos. has a new name — Lange Cos. — and a new structure as distributors on the St. Louis Produce Market get set for what they hope will be a festive and lucrative selling season.
The big news at Midwest Best Produce Inc. is that the 26-year-old produce brokerage has a new president and owner: Edin Saric.
Saric, a 20-year veteran of the company, took on his new position in early July as previous owner Dan Papillo eases into retirement.
Saric was named vice president about eight years ago. Before that, he was in charge of operations.
He said he felt that assuming the leadership of the firm was the right thing to do.
“I’m a young guy,” he said. “I’ve been doing this all my life, so it made sense to take over the company.”
Saric said he has big plans for the firm, which included shipping pumpkins out of four states prior to Halloween.
He has launched a months-long Mexican watermelon deal shipping through Nogales, Ariz., and then will prepare for a spring melon crop and next fall’s pumpkin program.
Midwest Best Produce has an extensive product line that includes “any melon you can think of,” lemons, limes, pineapples, papayas and a full line of vegetables from traditional cabbage, carrots and cucumbers to Asian items and fruits like citrus and apples, he said.
The company’s main focus is the Midwest, Saric said, but the firm provides watermelons and pumpkins for customers in all 48 contiguous states.
Midwest Best Produce will have growing deals in Central America at the beginning of the year then source from growing areas in Mexico, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Indiana, Nebraska and Michigan.
Also in St. Louis, newly renamed Lange Cos. has modified its structure of Lange Fresh Sales offices in St. Louis, Chicago and Indianapolis to a coordinated Central Region Office headed by Jeff Moore, vice president for the Central Region, said Greg Reinauer, Lange Cos. president and CEO.
The company that previously comprised Tom Lange, Seven Seas and Lange Logistics now consists of Lange Fresh Sales, Lange Farms and Lange Logistics. The farm division cultivates farm-fresh produce from berries to citrus to asparagus, and more, Reinauer said.
“Lange Farms offers grower-direct programs paired with global access and import management to provide custom, end-to-end solutions for customers big and small,” he said.
Lange Logistics offers full-service, multimodal transportations solutions throughout North America. While Lange Logistics has decades of expertise in refrigerated shipping with a focus on produce, its network of carriers offer flexible solutions for all shipping needs, he said.
Lange Fresh Sales has access to an extensive network of shippers, including Lange Farms, Reinauer said.
On the St. Louis Produce Market itself, distributors continue to provide retail, foodservice and other customers with fresh fruits and vegetables as the holidays approach.
Apples, oranges and grapes for area school districts are some of the main products distributed by Vaccaro & Sons Produce, said Dale Vaccaro, general manager.
The company also had good supplies of high-quality pumpkins and some gourds and squash during the fall season.
Strawberries from California are a good-selling item year-round, he said. He also has supplies of pomegranates, oranges and grapefruit.
The company does “steady business” in the Missouri and Illinois areas.
Vaccaro & Sons sources from Canada, Michigan, Georgia and Florida and will receive a variety of peppers and vegetables from Mexico.
Foodservice front
The St. Louis area has a pretty active restaurant scene, distributors say, and foodservice business accounts for a fair amount of produce sales.
Foodservice sales account for 15% to 20% of the business at Midwest Best Produce, Saric said.
Popular foodservice items are watermelons, pumpkins, broccoli, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and other vegetables.
Saric said he hopes to see foodservice business increase.
“We have a great opportunity and a lot of great restaurants that need support,” he said. “They just need people to be able to afford to go out to restaurants and support them.”
About 40% of Vaccaro & Sons’ business is with foodservice customers, Vaccaro said.
Salad items like spring mix, lettuces and tomatoes are among the bestselling items for restaurants, he said.
Foodservice business is rebounding from the pandemic lull, but factors like rising prices due to increased costs of labor seem to be keeping some diners from eating out as often, he said.
