“The demand for local produce fits perfectly with our business model, and we are expanding on it exponentially,” Frank Dandrea, president of Dandrea Produce in Vineland, NJ, told The Produce News.

“Our model begins with the grower with whom we work in the planning and financing processes to grow the crop to fulfill the programs that we have preset with our retail partners. We then monitor the crop throughout the growing process, harvesting, quality control, packaging and finally distribution.”

Dandrea Produce operates in the same way with the majority of suppliers around the world for year-round supplies during their seasons. The New Jersey local program, which is an integral part of the company’s business, runs from April 15 through Nov. 28.

“We essentially plan out the commodities for the entire local growing season starting with the first cycle of greens, which includes all of the lettuces, parsley and other leafy items,” Dandrea explained. “We then move into other summer items such as eggplant, squashes and other vegetables. Heading into fall, we move back into another cycle of greens. We also do a tremendous [amount of] tomato business.

“Our year-round blueberry program is major,” Dandrea continued. “It, of course, includes the high-quality New Jersey blues which begin in June. This year we are particularly excited about our new Blue Aroma blueberries from Morocco, which is an absolutely magnificent variety. We have been working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and some government officials to develop protocol for these blues, and we’re right on the cusp of completing that process.”

Dandrea will have the Blue Aroma blueberries exclusively. The first shipments are scheduled to begin in November. He noted that the Moroccan program also fits into the company’s business model and volumes will commensurate with the shipment periods.

Dandrea Produce is a multi-generational business that has been operated by family members since it began in 1917. Besides Dandrea, company executives include his brothers, Steven, vice president of sales, and Ron, secretary-treasurer. Ron also heads a major portion of the company’s import programs. Three members of the next generation of Dandrea family members are also now on staff at the company.

Today, Dandrea Produce has growing operations throughout the United States and the world. It handles over 100 commodities with year-round supplies and it customizes locally grown programs for all size retail chains. The company operates from a state-of-the-art 130,000-square-foot distribution center in Vineland.

It also specializes in custom packs, private label and retail solutions.

“We recently added some new packaging equipment, all of which meet the SQF2 certification standards,” said Dandrea. “We are proud to have the highest possible food-safety rating.”

The company has added to its staff to keep up with its phenomenal growth, which Dandrea said is up by 40 percent for the first half of this year. It anticipates the growth trend to continue due to the high-quality product, business model and outstanding service it offers to customers.

“Bob Consalo joined us about two months ago,” said Dandrea. “Bob comes from a prominent local family business. He’ll be serving us in the procurement capacity.

“We have also recently hired Scott Gaffney who came to us when he graduated from the West Virginia University,” he continued. “He is also in procurement. Lorraine Wolff has also recently joined us in our logistics and distribution department. We are very happy to have all three of these talented people on our team.”

Dandrea Produce may be a family operated company, but it treats every employee like family. Dandrea explained that as a company growing at such a serious rate, it is imperative to maintain a family modality. It has a kitchen for staff members, and it has an in-house gym that staff are encouraged to use.

“We have company barbeques at least a few times a year, especially during summer holidays,” he said. “We celebrate every employee’s birthday by presenting them with a cake and singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to them. We try to maintain the family ambience constantly even though we have evolved into a solid corporate mold with great expectations of continued growth.”

“The company also awards an employee of the month to honor those who have gone beyond the call of duty. The chosen person is read a tribute by one of the younger Dandrea generation members, and his or her name is posted on an honor wall. Employees of the month are also awarded with an additional week’s salary.

Dandrea services customers predominantly in the Northeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast corridors of the country.

“We are remarkably good at marketing and distribution,” said Dandrea. “And we’re very proud of what we do and how we do it.”