John Vena Inc. increases ripening capacity in 2025

John Vena Inc. has been operating in Philadelphia since the company began operations in 1919.

“Our roots go all the way back to the original produce market on Dock Street, where we had a stall for wine grapes,” said Casey Spencer, senior marketing coordinator for the company. “Once the city reclaimed the area, we moved to the Food Distribution Center in South Philly and now operate out of the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market. We’ve been proud to call the market our home for the last 13 years — its location connects us to major hubs along the East Coast and has proximity to major highways, the ports and the Philadelphia airport.”

John Vena handles a lot of cases, not just in a given year, but in the day-to-day operations as well.

“This ranges from basic commodities to exotics, but, truly, specialty is our niche,” Spencer said. “We carry full lines of specialty fruit and vegetables that we source both domestically and internationally, like pomegranates from our imports division, JVI Imports. This program allows us to source wonderful poms nearly year-round for the U.S. market and bridge the counter-season availability gap.”

As of early May, the company was in the Peruvian season and was pleased with how the season is going so far in regard to sizing, color and quality.

“Customers look for more than just produce these days and we offer that additional support through our value-added services,” Spencer said. “Wholesale, imports, ripening, repacking — they all offer different benefits to our customers.”

Having a ripening facility on-site has allowed the company to specialize in ripening avocado, banana and mangos.

“As we near the time of year for the Flora Loca crop of avocados, these conditioned fruits will be a big part of our volume,” Spencer said. “Through our packing facility, we’re able to offer split cases for a wide variety of our stocked items. One of our biggest areas for this is our culinary herb program, which includes varieties like tarragon, sorrel and more. This past year we’ve also been diving into offering retail cases for some of our specialty items, like Thai hots and brown coconuts.”

John Vena Inc. was excited to install some of its first mobile ripening units in the fall, with the additional space allowing the company to increase its ripening capacity heading into 2025.

The biggest challenge the company faces is the unknown, with Spencer explaining they can never truly predict how a season may go, when Mother Nature will do its worst, what may happen in politics or how climate change can impact things.

“It’s a lot of what ifs, ands and maybes,” she said. “But we know we’ll adapt to all these possibilities by working proactively and listening to the needs of the supply chain to better support our customers.”

The company has been keeping a close eye on FSMA 204 and how it can impact its day-to-day.

“Although its official enactment has been delayed, many in the produce industry are sticking to their original timeline,” Spencer said. “We have an amazing food safety director who has been working hard behind the scenes to review our processes so we can be in line with the regulations and continue to support our customers.”

Overall, it’s the experienced and hard-working team that Spencer credits with the company’s success.

“I work with so many amazing individuals — some who have been in the industry far longer than me and others who, like myself, are a bit newer,” she said. “Regardless, I see teams and departments work seamlessly together every day and I think it’s that special work culture that contributes to our success. People, regardless of department, are willing to step-up, support one another and share wisdom as needed.”