The wild ride of 2020 has been replaced by a slightly tamer version for this year.
California’s Santa Maria shippers say the pandemic’s effect on marketing has been profound, but foodservice demand is slowly recovering.
Stronger foodservice sales, approaching pre-pandemic levels, could happen as early as midsummer, said Steve Adlesh, partner with Beachside Produce LLC, Guadalupe, Calif.
Mid-July is also the target date for a return to pre-pandemic foodservice demand levels for Tony Beltran, president of Santa Maria, Calif.-based A B Fresh Inc. Beltran said he experienced wild swings in demand in 2020 as the virus affected different regions of the country, which created challenges for promotions and overall movement.
“With foodservice shut down for most of 2020, the focus of our marketing efforts was aimed at educating the retail consumer on our many specialty items and their health benefits,” said Matt Hiltner, marketing coordinator for Babé Farms, Santa Maria. “While that is still a focus for 2021, we are optimistic about the gradual return of foodservice in the coming months and will direct our marketing efforts to that sector as well.”
Another shipper said reaching the pre-pandemic level of demand will take time.
“We expect foodservice demand to increase as we exit the pandemic, but it could be a multiple-year process before it starts approaching pre-pandemic levels,” said Roger Privett III, sales and business development manager for Santa Maria-based Main Street Produce. Last year’s increased demand at retail will carry over into 2021, Privett said.
“It was a wild ride (last year); (this year) looks to be moderately less wild,” Philip Adam, chief operating officer of Santa Maria-based Innovative Produce. Barring another big wave/shutdown, Babé Farms is optimistic foodservice will be close to pre-pandemic levels in late 2021 or early 2022, Hiltner said. “With the vaccine distribution in motion, and cases trending downward, it looks like we are making progress toward that goal.”
How soon demand returns to pre-pandemic levels could be influenced by changes in consumer habits, said Debra Garrison, manager of AgEmpowered, Santa Maria, noting the popularity of grocery e-commerce and home meal kits.
A clean and simple way to predict when “normal” returns is when all restaurants are open 100%, said Tom Cline, sales manager for Durant Distributing, Santa Maria.
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