Nardelli Lake View Farms has a history of service and quality
Nardelli Lake View Farms has a history of providing quality products, great value and top-notch service to its retailer and wholesale clientele.
In fact, for the last 125 years, the company, now being operated by the fourth and fifth generation of family members, has prided itself on being consistent with what it offers its retailers and wholesalers, as well as what consumers think about its broad product line, operated under the Lake View Farms label.
“We have been able to maintain same great relationships with many major retailers and wholesalers east of the Mississippi for 50 to 60 years,” said Bill Nardelli Sr., the president of the Cedarville, NJ-based company and a fourth-generation operator of the company. “Now the next generation, my sons Bill and Jimmy, are developing those new relationships with the younger people at the companies we work with.
“My dad said it was just so important for us to offer a good quality product at a fair price with good service. He also said it was very important to live up to your word and we stand by that today,” he continued. “Your word is your bond and that is a critical reason we have been able to maintain such strong ties with our retailers and wholesalers even as many of their faces have changed over the years.”
Assortment is another big plus for Nardelli. The current spring harvest shows the breadth of Nardelli’s offering of more than 80 commodities. While cool and damp weather in April and May over the Northeast has put a slight delay in the spring crop, he said it is still looking like another great year for his products.
“Overall, the weather just slowed the process down,” he said. “Many of the wet commodities, including lettuce, cabbage, leaks and beets are really nice and the quality is excellent. Our asparagus has been exceptional, and our retailers are excited at what they are seeing and hearing, and they are doing a lot of promotions to get customers excited about local and domestic produce items.”
Like many companies, Nardelli focuses on different products at different times of the growing season. Wet products are the focus during the early spring. By late May and into the summer, dry items like corn, beans, eggplant and squash become the priority, with fruits like blueberries and peaches becoming more available later in the summer.
Of course, getting fresh products to market also is extremely important and Nardelli’s own distribution company is excellent at making sure that the crop reaches retail shelves in an extremely timely manner.
“Our tagline, Fresher by Miles, points out that not only are we close to many of the major population centers, but we have our own distribution system, which we started in 1941, and is designed to make sure that we get the products to shelves as soon as possible. Often that means overnight deliveries to these areas and that is so critical to maintain the freshness and flavors of our crops. The bottom line is we want to get our products to the consumer so they can enjoy them.”
The future of the company? “The biggest thing about the future and what makes me the proudest is having my sons working here,” said Nardelli, who started working for the company 50 years ago when he travelled to Chicago with his dad and uncle on a business trip. “They are the future of our family business and the future of agriculture. The young people are developing different technologies and ways to do business that are critical to keeping the agriculture business strong. Now, it is up to them to carry on and take this to the next level and feed the American people.”
Nardelli is happy to report, the first member of the sixth generation, James Nicholas Nardelli III, was born just a few weeks ago.