Maurice Auerbach sees plenty of opportunity at NEPC show
Maurice Auerbach sees plenty of opportunity at NEPC show
The NEPC Produce, Floral & Food Service Expo is a favorite of Maurice Auerbach Inc., and the Secaucus, NJ-based company has been attending since its earliest days.
“We always enjoy the show, and it gives us a chance to see some of the customers that we don’t get to see on a regular basis,” said Bruce Klein, director of marketing for the company. “Our success at NEPC comes from creating a booth that attracts participants with a nice display, where we can answer questions about our products.”
Under its AuerPak brand, the company specializes in garlic, shallots and other specialty items, including tropical and Asian produce, as well as organic garlic, asparagus, ginger and tofu.
“We will be bringing an assortment of the items we sell this time of year,” Klein said. “We will have a nice display and we hope to get some new business.”
The NEPC show is an important one for Maurice Auerbach Inc., as it’s very well attended by the New England chains and foodservice people and it’s an opportunity for the company to network with these buyers.
“It’s very well attended, and you see a wide variety of buyers at the show, so it’s really a tremendous networking opportunity,” Klein said.
In addition to Klein, the Maurice Auerbach Inc. booth will be helmed by operations manager Ian Zimmerman and a sales assistant.
“Our strategy is to talk to as many end-buyers as possible,” Klein said. “It’s not only doing that at the booth, but at the NEPC breakfast, the gathering the night before, the VIP function and everything going on at the show.”
He added that the facility is a great one because everyone is in one spot so it’s not difficult to find who you want to talk with and make connections.
One of the conversations Klein expects to be talking about at the show surrounds tariffs. As the largest garlic and specialty produce distributor in the Northeast, sourcing its diverse product line from around the world, the tariff issue has been a concern for the company in 2025.
“There’s no question that it’s an issue,” he said. “We have no choice, we have to pay it and absorb it.”
Another challenge currently is logistics and getting products in time.
“It’s getting harder to procure product on a timely basis than it is to sell it,” Klein said. “You’ve got to get the product in and have it in stock when the customer wants it, so logistics has become a very important part of the business.”
So far in 2025, Klen characterized business as being “healthy,” reflecting on the sales and positives he’s seen at the company.
“Still, it’s become more much challenging,” he said. “A lot of overcoming that is customer retention — giving the customer what they want, when they want it, and at a fair price. It’s about offering good quality and delivering on-time. All of that helps lead to success.”
Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, Klein noted garlic is very strong and so he expects the category to increase. With connections he hopes to make at NEPC he sees the company selling more items and continuing to grow.
“We always strive to make our operation better,” Klein said. “We are looking at a lot of different things in that regard.”
