Rocky Produce optimistic another strong year ahead

Rocky Produce, working out of the Detroit Terminal Market, carries a full line of quality fruits and vegetables—both organic and conventionally grown.

“We source locally, domestically and internationally to offer a year-round supply of the freshest produce,” said Dominic Russo, general manager of the Detroit-based company.

A longtime tenant in the Motor City, few names have earned the success and respect that Rocky Produce has, and its exceptional reputation is well earned.

In 2023, Rocky Produce was thankful for an up year and so far in the early days of 2024 that continues to be the case.

“Things are looking good; we are steady coming out of the holidays,” Russo said. “There has been a lot of cold weather coming out of the growing areas, so it’s been causing the prices of a lot of vegetables to go up. But other than that, things have been strong and we have a really good outlook for 2024.”

Working in Detroit has been a key to the success the company has seen since it first opened its doors more than six decades ago.

“It’s a commuter town, and every day we get to drive down to the city and work, and it’s a lot of hard-working people,” Russo said about his love of Detroit. “We get to experience the four seasons, and everything has its value and the diets that go along with each season. Right now, people are eating the winter diets the restaurant scene is as strong as it’s ever been. It’s a good balance and a good place to be.”

One trend that Russo has noticed in recent years is an increase in people being mindful of the food they are consuming.

“Americans are generally eating better and are more conscious of what they are buying and for many, product is on the menu,” he said.

A key to the success of Rocky Produce since 1957 has been that it’s a well-run family business that has always been a trusted name in the industry.

“What we put in, we get out. The good lord has blessed us each and every year though the ups and downs,” Russo said. “We’re a hard-working family and a hard-working group of people and we function well as a team.”

Speaking of the team, Rocky Produce is known as a company where many employees stay the majority of their career, and that has also been a big key to success.

“We have a great team, we work together well, that’s probably the No. 1 thing and aside from that, we have great grower-shipper partners that believe in the value of working for us and who appreciate the job we do,” Russo said. “And we appreciate what they do for us, and those relationships have been cultivated over many years. And it’s common that we find new relationships and have new programs to reinforce what we already have.”

He’s also proud of the outstanding relationships Rocky Produce has with its customers, which are half retailers and half wholesale foodservice distributors.

“The retailers do a remarkable job merchandising and pushing consumption of the produce in world-class markets,” Russo said. “They are all hard workers, and they drive us to work hard.” And the growers the company works with are equally as outstanding and Russo considers it an honor to be in between the two in the Detroit market.

“We are grateful to be able to do that,” Russo said.