Foodservice business on the rebound

Foodservice business has bounced back significantly from where it was a year ago, but most California winter vegetable grower-shippers say there’s still a way to go before sales approach pre-pandemic levels.

“It’s been a challenging 18 months for everybody,” said Russ Widerburg, sales manager at Boskovich Farms, Oxnard, Calif.
The firm’s foodservice sales probably dipped to 40% to 50% of normal during the peak of the pandemic, he said. Now they’re starting to rebound.

“It’s kind of gotten back to semi normal over the last 10 or 12 months,” he said.

All of the company’s vegetables experienced sales drops.

“Foodservice was adversely affected because of (fewer) people going out to eat,” he said. 

At the same time, retail sales were up as much as 200%.

“The retail side benefited because more people were cooking at home,” Widerburg said.

But even as restaurants reopen and return to normal business hours, tight labor is causing foodservice operators to raise their menu prices.
“It makes it a little tougher for a family to go out and eat,” Widerburg said.

Some people still are following pandemic-related precautions and are reluctant to dine out.

“I think the worst is behind us, but it’s still there,” he said. “It’s still a concern.”

Boskovich Farms’ diversified product line plays an important role in helping the company get through tough times, he said.

The foodservice situation was similar at Coastline Family Farms, Salinas, Calif.

“It’s been a long, tough road,” said salesman Mark McBride. But things are improving as the number of immunized people grows.
“We’re not out of the woods, and there are still challenges,” he said, “but we’re definitely seeing improved business.”

Fresno, Calif.-based Baloian Farms works with several key foodservice accounts, said salesman Jay Angulo.

“I don’t think we’re alone in saying that we experienced a big drop off on foodservice business due to COVID-19, across all commodities,” he said

But for the most part, he said foodservice business seems to be nearly back on track.

“We do see some lingering cities or states that may not be completely back to normal,” he said. “But hopefully, in time we see a full comeback in those places also.”

Foodservice business has been “pretty flat” for the first 10 months of the year, but Jeff Taylor, managing partner at Prime Time International, Coachella, Calif., hopes it will ramp up as the holidays approach.

Taylor said he’s concerned that small restaurants may have gone by the wayside.

“The balance is a little off from where it normally is between grocery stores and foodservice,” he said.

Taylor said he’s not sure if business is down because people have not returned to dining out or because some restaurants still are closed or are operating under reduced hours.

“The restaurants that are open are only seating for the staff they can handle, not full capacity,” he said.

He has visited restaurants in several parts of the country and said they’re all finding it difficult to find workers.

“They all say the same thing,” he said. “I think we’d see an uptick if we had more service because people wouldn’t have to wait for hours in line.”

Foodservice sales dropped during the pandemic at Coachella-based Peter Rabbit Farms, but salesman Ed Lopez said it’s hard to say for sure how much of a decrease there was because the company tends to sell to foodservice operators through wholesalers, making it difficult to gauge exactly where their product goes.

Wholesalers did report that foodservice business was down around the country, he said. But he added that sales appear to be returning.
“You can go to the restaurants and see that it’s coming back,” he said.