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D’Arrigo NY makes a statement with apples

By
Seth Mendelson

Gabriela D’Arrigo is confident D’Arrigo NY, can play a role helping retailers and shippers navigate the robust, but complicated, apple market.

As vice president of marketing and communications for the Hunt’s Point-based wholesaler, D’Arrigo is adamant they have the tools and experience to help everyone involved in the apple industry sell more product and generate as much profit as possible.

For the most part, she said the apples category is pretty consistent, able to survive intense weather outbursts from Mother Nature well. But that does not mean that there are times when retailers and shippers need a helping hand to generate more business and maneuver through any difficult issues that may arise.

“Frankly, right now we are sitting in a pretty sweet spot,” she said, adding that D’Arrigo is the largest wholesale apple house in the Northeast. “Of course, we would like a perfect season, but as wholesalers we thrive on the instability of the industry. Wholesalers are necessary to provide stability for the industry. We are adrenaline junkies at the end of the day. Whether good or bad, we go with the flow and figure it out as we go. That is because we are good dealing with Mother Nature and perishable items. We hope to provide consistency and continuity across the board so everything can run smoothly.”

Apples tend to be among the most stable of produce categories, but with new varieties and sizes constantly being introduced and consumers looking for great tastes without high prices, the industry is always in a state of flux as how best to market items.

“Because of the volume we handle in apples and the sheer number of shippers we work with, we have a really good feel for the lay of the land,” D’Arrigo said. “Right now, we feel very good about the upcoming season and the year ahead. The name of the game is to provide consistent service to our customers and pull a consistent volume from our suppliers to make sure that both ends of the spectrum remain strong.

“I think the Old Faithfuls remain the same,” she continued. “Such varieties as red and golden delicious, Gala, Fuji and Granny Smith always produce consistent sales. HoneyCrisps, though more expensive to produce and ship from the West Coast, also does quite well. We try to remind our retail partners that apples are always near the top in terms of popularity among fruits. The product is consistent and there are a lot of different varieties to choose from. Apples are also well known by everyone regardless of culture and have a strong shelf life. Plus, kids love them and they are great with parents who are looking for healthy snacks for their children.”

Still, she said that educating both retailers and consumers is a never-ending battle. Retailers need to know as much as possible about varieties and price points and they need to observe what products sell best with their customers. “It is so important to look at specific demographics and see what varieties are most popular,” D’Arrigo said. “We want to help our retail partners get a better understanding of what products their customers want in terms of varieties, sizes and even how much they are willing to spend on apples.

“We also want to convey what the shippers are telling us in terms of weather patterns, labor issues and the cost of apples,” she said. “We serve as the middlemen between the shippers and retailers and we want to make sure we give them all the information they need to make sure that everyone is happy and maximize their sales and profits.”

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