Toronto-area produce distributors seen gains in foodservice sales
Foodservice business in the Toronto area has been making gains over the past couple of years, but it’s not yet back to pre-pandemic levels, produce distributors say.
“Foodservice definitely has picked up since COVID,” said Angelo Alberga, vice president of sales and general manager at Canadian Fruit & Produce Co. Ltd. on the Ontario Food Terminal.
“Restaurants were almost obsolete” during the pandemic, he said.
Some of the smaller, mom and pop owners who shopped on the market closed their locations and have not reopened them.
“The [restaurants] that had the resources to stay open and hold on are back on their feet again,” he said. “But they’re never going to recover what they lost.”
The company’s main items are cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew, citrus and vegetables such as greens, red and orange peppers, zucchini and specialty chili peppers.
Troy Bacchus, operations manager for Ippolito Produce on the market, said he’s observed the same thing.
“A lot of the small restaurants have closed,” he said. “After the pandemic, they couldn’t sustain themselves.”
Business has been slowly returning in recent months, Bacchus said. Sales of items like greens, carrots, baby carrots and baby beets are picking up among foodservice operators.
At the same time, the number of ethnic restaurants in Toronto is on the rise, he said. Those establishments tend to seek out specialty items like chayote, yuca, edible flowers, okra and eddoes, a tropical root vegetable also known as taros.
Meanwhile, he said, consumers — especially younger ones — seem to be changing their dining habits and visiting restaurants that offer more affordable prices while cutting back on visits to fine dining establishments.
Bacchus has a positive outlook for the future.
“I think [foodservice business] will slowly get back to where it was, and whoever is left in the business is going to see some good pickups,” he said.
Michael Fallico, vice president at F.G. Lister & Co. Ltd. in Toronto, said it’s difficult to measure foodservice movement.
“Foodservice is moving, but it’s hard to say to what extent it’s bounced back from the pandemic,” he said. “There are periods where it’s very busy, and it feels like it’s back to pre-pandemic levels, and other times when it’s a little slower.”
The holiday period was busy, he said, but foodservice sales started to drop off after the first of the year, which is not unusual.
Packaged salads, broccoli crowns, celery and citrus are some of the company’s most popular offerings for foodservice operators.
Bacchus said he’s noticed that some fast-food restaurants have installed kiosks where customers can place their food orders. It’s not an idea he supports because kiosks take jobs away from younger workers and “disconnects us more from interacting with people,” he said. “There’s a time and place for technology, but I think we’re taking it a bit too far.”
Still, he said, businesses need to change with the times.
“The companies that don’t adapt to what’s happening now will be left in the dark,” Bacchus said.
