Baldor Specialty Food’s distribution web takes a skip-jump to Miami
Baldor Specialty Food’s distribution web takes a skip-jump to Miami
Michael Muzyk, president of Baldor Specialty Foods, headquartered in the Bronx, NY, told The Produce News that the company has opened a Miami, FL, operation. This news comes about one year from when it officially opened its Washington, D.C. facility. The company opened its Boston, MA, operation in 2006.
Founded in the early 1970s, today Baldor is one of the largest importers and distributors of fresh produce and specialty foods in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, and now the Deep South has been added to its operations.
Muzyk explained that the company teamed with Whole Foods to supply their 35 stores in the Northwest and another 35 in the North Atlantic, as far north as Maine, some time ago.
“We have had such great success with supply chain management for Whole Foods that they asked us to run our units to Miami to service their stores in the south,” said Muzyk. “We have a sales representative there who is also looking to add new lines to our program.”
He pointed out that it’s not that the company’s organic carrots are six inches or less, giving Whole Foods something they haven’t seen before, but rather it’s about relationships.
“And our relationships with our producers are very strong,” said Muzyk. “We have the capability to bring in the freshest possible food items from the best producers, and we are all about servicing our customers. My job is to bring solutions to the table, and this program with Whole Foods delivered them.”
He also noted that the trucks go to Miami full, but they’re also returning with produce by backhauling from the company’s local farms in Florida for tomatoes and other seasonal items, and in Georgia for Vidalia onions, as well as other crops.
“We’re just putting our toe in the water in Miami now,” Muzyk explained. “Our ultimate plan is to spread our operation throughout the East with facilities that service an area that reaches to the edges of our adjacent facility’s distribution area. Ultimately every area in the East will be supplied with Baldor product.
“Someday in the future we will open a fully operational facility in Miami,” he continued. “In the meantime, we are, in essence, running product from Maine to Miami, with future growth laid out with purpose and intent.”
