D’Arrigo New York enjoys great relationships with suppliers
D’Arrigo New York has been part of the Hunts Point Market since the market’s beginnings. They know that while the market is one of a kind, there is a uniqueness that makes it special.
“First off, New York City is unlike any other city out there,” said Gabriela D’Arrigo, vice president of marketing and communications for D’Arrigo New York. “We are in a very densely populated area, and having the largest fresh produce terminal in such a small area is a pretty unique situation. We have the ability to reach everybody and feed everybody.”
Another thing that makes Hunts Point special, she noted, is the wide breadth of individuals coming to the market each day.
“We learn a lot from our customers, and one of the reasons we are able to offer such a wide variety of produce is New York City is a melting pot of a wide variety of ethnicities and different demographics, so we have people from all over the world coming in,” D’Arrigo said. “We may get a request that no one has ever heard of, and we will go and look to bring those items in, and eventually they become a regular item in the lineup.”
D’Arrigo New York is looking at 2021 with much of the same lens that it operated in 2020, making sure employees are doing everything to stay safe to combat COVID-19 and doing what it can to help its customers.
“We are really trying to understand the new landscape of where we are today,” D’Arrigo said. “Restaurants are opening back up here in New York City at 25 percent capacity, which is huge. We are incredibly excited about that and are focusing on getting New York City back to where it was.”
Of course, D’Arrigo New York continues to work with retailers and making sure they have what they need to keep their shelves full.
“Having a great relationship with your customers and being able to anticipate what their needs will be is really the secret of success here at Hunts Point,” D’Arrigo said. “You also have to make sure you have the same type of relationship with your suppliers. As we learned in 2020, things can change on a dime, and if you need someone to help you out, being able to call on those relationships is a huge key to success.”
D’Arrigo New York works with importers when it comes to international business and knows that is another key for improving business, as not everything can be found locally.
“We import from around the world, always bringing stuff in that customers are looking for,” D’Arrigo said. “They are very important. Seasonality wise, when the U.S. can’t meet the demand, you have to be able to outsource for what you need.”
The company is one of many on the market that is family run, and D’Arrigo said the recent strike at Hunts Point just showed how passionate the family is about their business. Her uncle and cousins brought in mattresses and slept there, rotating around the clock to ensure they were maintaining the volume they normally did.
“We make it a point to make everyone here feel like a family member,” D’Arrigo said. “It really is that type of mentality and that’s been passed down through the generations starting with my great grandfather.”
As the company plans for the spring, it is getting ready to launch a new, exciting marketing campaign, looking at different types of CRM programs — a first for D’Arrigo New York.
“It will have newsletters coming out providing the industry and consumers with more information about the company and what we’re doing here at Hunts Point,” D’Arrigo said. “It will include any new hires we have coming on board, and any new initiatives planned. I’m very much looking forward to having that out there.”
