“Hunts Point is my whole living, and New York has been our home for five generations,” he said. “We support the whole Tri-State and beyond; anyone from street vendors to high-end restaurants.”
The company consistently seeks out the latest trends, monitoring customer purchases and specialty items that are making their way into recipes. This focus can result in adjustments to their product offerings on a weekly or monthly basis.
“We handle a lot of the mainstay items,” Cochran said. “We carry the basics that have been around for years and people are aware of what we offer.”
So far, business in 2025 has been ok, though the numbers are expected to head upward as they usually do once the nicer weather comes along.
“We are just coming out of winter, and that’s the hardest time because people don’t go out as much, but it was a mild winter, so we’ve had worse,” Cochran said. “Hopefully, the weather around the country cooperates and there’s no crop failures, but I know a lot of my farmers planted extra in anticipation of having a good year.”
As a family-run business, Robt. T. Cochran & Co.’s employees take great pride in its legacy as one of the leading companies in the market. Currently, the company is in search of a new salesperson, but for the most part, not much is changing.
“You have to have people you can rely on and do the right thing,” Cochran said. “You can’t do everything yourself.”
A lot of the industry is keeping a close eye on what’s happening with tariffs and Cochran is no different.
“No one really knows what’s going to happen, it’s on, then off, and I think everyone is just waiting to see what the real shakeout is going to be,” he said. “We probably won’t really know for a month or two about how it will impact us.”
Robt. T. Cochran & Co., is the longest-owned company at Hunts Point and has kept running smoothly thanks to family and a loyal, hard-working employee base, many of whom have been working for the company a long time.
“Down here, you just have to find some deals and keep selling, and hopefully it works out; there are no guarantees,” Cochran said. “We do what we can, the best we can. There’s nothing that guarantees your next day here, so you just have to keep working hard.”
Cochran always enjoyed working with his father, who is now retired, and he’s waiting to see if his kids will want to take over someday. Until then, it will be business as usual as the company continues thriving at Hunts Point.
