Chicago foresees strong sales

Most Chicago-area produce distributors seem to have survived the pandemic in fairly good shape, and they appear to be looking forward to a busy holiday season.

“We’re recovering from the shutdown and all the craziness of last year,” said Mark Pappas, president of Coosemans Chicago Inc.
Things aren’t quite back to normal, but the situation is a lot better than it was last year, he said.

“We’re on an upward trajectory, but we still have some work to do.”
Chicago-based Strube Celery and Vegetable Co., also anticipates a healthy holiday season, said TJ Fleming, vice president.

The holidays always prompt a sales increase compared to the firm’s normal business, he said.

He had not seen sales totals from Thanksgiving as of late November, but he said the company shipped more packages than usual.

However, he wasn’t sure how that would translate into dollar sales.
“The dollars may have been influenced by higher markets on some of the western vegetables,” he said.

Business has been good at The Ruby Co., Buffalo Grove, Ill., said Josh Wolff, director of growth and strategy.

“We have been growing at double-digit rates over the last 24 months.”

Sales took a dive in certain segments – such as foodservice -- when COVID-19 hit in 2020.

Over time, though, supply chains have opened back up, restaurants opened their doors, and distributors began bringing in inventory close to pre-COVID-19 levels, he said.

“Our business is better than ever,” Wolff said.

“We’ve been able to bring in a tremendous number of new customers, focusing on foodservice customers, retailers, wholesalers and distributors across the country.”

Sun Belle Inc., Schiller Park, Ill., also is experiencing strong sales, said Janice Honigberg, president and founder.

“Business really has been excellent,” she said.

Honigberg was thankful that the company was able to survive COVID-19 pandemic conditions thanks to the effort of her Sun Belle team members.

“We never closed, we never laid off anybody, we managed to continue fully staffed in all locations from the beginning of the pandemic until today,” she said.

“We were determined to come through for our growers, our customers and the consumers.”

The majority of Coosemans business is in foodservice, so the pandemic had a serious impact on that segment, but retail was another story, Pappas said.

“The retail end never really missed a beat,” he said.

Pappas said the Friday after Thanksgiving can be an indicator of how the coming holiday season will shape up as customers start restocking and even preparing for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.

Coosemans was very busy the day after Thanksgiving this year, Pappas said.

“We’re hoping for the best.”

In early December, the company was shipping a number of specialty items, like 

Holland rhubarb, dragon fruit, several Fresh Express brand salads and lots of arugula.

“Arugula has become quite the commodity for us,” he said.
Business was slow at Strube in late November, but Fleming expected that to change.

“There’s a little bit of a lull right now in between holidays, but come the second week of December, we’ll ramp back up and get busy again,” he said.

The year-end holidays are cooking holidays, Fleming said, so he expects to sell more cooking vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, onions and potatoes.

Strube has greatly expanded its organic program, and that should have a positive effect on every department.

“Almost every one of our customer handles organic to some degree,” he said.

The holidays should be a productive period for The Ruby Co.
“We saw a huge uptick for Thanksgiving,” Wolff said.

The company supported numerous ads for items like potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, apples, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and seasonal items that retailers focus on.

There was a lull after Thanksgiving, but that likely will be short-lived.
“We’ll see an uptick again in purchasing to ensure that retailers have what they need to support the holiday retail surges at store level,” he said. 

Foodservice business should be up as well.

After last year’s stay-at-home mandates, “I think a lot of people are excited to be in a position to reunite with family and friends this year,” he said.

“People are getting back to their regular lives.”

The holidays definitely are a time for berries, which are Sun Belle’s specialty, Honigberg said.

“Then it rolls into January, where there’s a lot of emphasis on healthy eating and healthy living,” she said. “Berries are very much part of that picture.”

“These are some exciting months coming up.”