“Mangos are expected to be tight until the end of October,” said Eric Nagelberg, president of the Mamaroneck, NY-based importer with 10 employees. “However, November, December and January should be excellent times to promote mangos as both Ecuador and Peru are expected to have strong crops. We are offering promotions from November through the end of January to take advantage of the good crops expected.”
Nagelberg, a fifth-generation family member to work in the produce business, has worked at the company since 1994. He emphasized how important it is to build awareness of mangos and to get consumers to understand all aspects of the segment in order to maximize sales and increase profits.
“It is super important that our industry continues to educate the consumer on how to pick a ripe mango,” he said. “It is also extremely important to educate consumer to know the difference in the varieties, so they can learn which type of varieties they prefer and how to choose them.”
He said a combination of growing awareness of mangos with consumers and growers getting smarter and more experienced at their jobs is also helping the category grow and prosper. “Mango growth has been excellent over the last 20 years as more consumers become familiar with mangos and become more comfortable learning how pick them and cut them,” Nagelberg said. “Also, having growers pick the fruit at the proper maturity will help continue to grow sales and, conversely, picking mangos too early can have a negative impact on flavor and can hurt sales.”
Staying ahead of the trends is also an extremely important factor to future success. “One of the most important trends we see is that retailers are asking for fiberless mangos,” Nagelberg said. “Retailers are learning that fiberless mangos are often preferred despite their green appearance. As our customers continue to learn about mangos, it will be important to understand their needs and focus on the varieties and condition that they want.”
Panorama Produce has a long history dealing with the mango category. Nagelberg said the company, which was founded by his father, Jeff, in 1983 as a produce brokerage company, first started handling mangos about 30 years ago and began a direct import program in 2004. “We opened up our West Coast office about eight years ago, which helped us grow from a regional company to a national company,” he noted.
Panorama Produce started an import division more than 20 years ago and that program now imports mangos from Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico.
“We started the program importing one container of mangos per week, and with the help of our West Coast office we have grown it into a national company,” he said. “Now, we are excited to announce that Mariluz Vallejo recently joined the company to help strengthen our mango sourcing.”
Utilizing the slogan, We Take the Problems Out of Importing, officials at Panorama Produce say a healthy combination of experience, investment and strong partnerships has helped the company reach its goals and allow its executives to plan for the future.
The experience is more than 100 years of selling and more than 20 years of running their mango importing business. The investment is the money and time put into what is grown and sold and what has allowed the company to become one of the largest importers of mangos into the domestic marketplace. The partnership is the ability to provide its customers with 52-week programs and the fact that all product is Global Cap Certified and follows all traceability protocols.
“Over the last 20 years, mangos have been a high growth item,” Nagelberg said. “As more consumers become more familiar with the different varieties, we believe the category will see even more growth. We are incredibly excited about the future.”
Photo: Eric Nagelberg with his late father Jeff Nagelberg.
