Organic still more of a speciality in the St. Louis market, distributors say
Storage sheds may not be bursting at the seams with organic produce in the St. Louis area, but it’s available if you look hard enough.
“In this part of the Midwest, [organic produce] is a specialty, it’s not a high-volume [category],” said Joe Sanders, owner and president of Midstate Produce Co. Inc. on the St. Louis Produce Market.
Cities like Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit attract a lot more organic business than St. Louis does, he said.
Midstate can provide organic produce, but it’s not a mainstay.
Lemons, onions, ginger, garlic, celery, romaine and bananas are some of the organic items Midstate offers.
“We’ll source anything and pack out the size that anybody wants,” Sanders said.
Vaccaro & Sons Produce on the market does very little organic produce, said Dale Vaccaro, general manager.
Some apples and carrots are the main organic offerings the company sells.
Related: Organically Grown Company launches campaign touting ‘Organic is the Answer’
“We don’t have a very strong organic market here in St. Louis,” he said.
Sales have been steady for organics over past couple of years, Vaccaro said. “A lot of the bigger chains are bringing it in themselves.”
St. Louis-based Midwest Best Produce Inc. dabbled in organics a couple of years ago, said Dan Pupillo, president.
“We did not continue with it because the cost differences were not worth the margins we were getting on it,” he said. “If you’re not on the retail radar with organic, you’re not going to survive it.”
Organic sales are “steady” at Midstate Produce, Sanders said.
Probably the only way the organic category would grow in the Midwest would be if a retailer only offered organic and sold it at same price as conventional, he said.
