“We’ve always stayed true to our core values, and that’s been our strength, honestly,” D’Arrigo said. “And I think it’s allowed us to still do well. We don’t change who we are.”

An example of that is a saying passed down from Stephen D’Arrigo: “Don’t set goals, set standards to live by.” The rest falls into place with that guiding principle, Gabriela D’Arrigo said.

“Standards are tied to your bedrock, your foundation,” she said. “That’s something that stays consistent, and that’s something I remind myself of regularly.”

That also applies to D’Arrigo California, the family’s Salinas-based growing, packing and shipping company and home of the Andy Boy brand, said D’Arrigo, who worked at the West Coast location for four years before joining the Hunts Point office. She’s one of five fourth-generation D’Arrigo family members at the market.

The company has 36 stalls — essentially, an entire row — at the market, and two other facilities just off the market. 

D’Arrigo New York primarily serves the tri-state area, focusing on retail, and supplying foodservice operators mostly through jobbers that specialize in making multiple small drops throughout the day.

“Foodservice (delivery) is difficult, especially in a city like New York,” D’Arrigo said. “You have to have an expansive and unique fleet to be able to reach all of these places with your vehicles. That last mile, that’s a whole job in and of itself.”

Generations of knowledge, relationships

While preserving its link to the past, the D’Arrigo organization stays on top of trends and facility and technology upgrades. Part of the driving force behind that is the fourth generation and its ties to the digital world. Gabriela D’Arrigo has helped bring the company into the social media arena as part of the company’s brand outreach.

More resources have been dedicated to digitizing processes. When the fourth generation arrived, they were tasked with upgrading technology.

“Prior to my cousins and I arriving at the company in New York, it was all still being done ‘old school,’” she said. “Orders were still being written down on call cards.”

A vital part of keeping multi-generational family companies thriving, D’Arrigo said, is to rely on the strengths of each successive generation. With her background on the growing side, D’Arrigo is in contact with D’Arrigo California for harvest and supply updates.

“I was able to bring what I learned from the farm to New York,” she said. “And some of my cousins come from the finance world, which has definitely played a role in how we operate, moving forward. Another one came from logistics.

“Just having people from different backgrounds with different mindsets, knowledge and perspectives, that can be extremely beneficial,” she continued. “And you see that across the board in our industry as a whole.”

This also sets in motion a critical step that businesses must take to innovate.

“I’ve learned from different people that taking a look at your business, doing some real self-reflection, is important,” D’Arrigo said. “How are we perceived? What are we actually doing? It’s difficult to do, but it’s helpful, because you tend to get tunnel vision. It’s human nature.”

Just as D’Arrigo New York has decades-long relationships with customers in the Northeast, it also has longstanding ties to suppliers, particularly in California. D’Arrigo said the company has been distributing well-known produce labels for many years, and the company considers it is an extension of other companies’ sales desks.

“When they’re sending product to us, it’s ours to make sure that we take the best care of it as we can,” she said. “When you consider that you’re an extension of their sales desks, you take ownership and have a lot more pride in something. We strive to do that with all of the products we bring in.”