FARMINGDALE, NY - With a name like Bushwick Potato Commission, retailers and foodservice operators know what they’re getting into when they partner with the supplier. But beyond potatoes, Bushwick also offers an expansive lineup of vegetables, diversifying its standing in the produce department and highlighting its uniqueness in the market.
I chatted with Marc Turner, General Manager, to learn more about what sets Bushwick Potato Commission apart from other suppliers and why it’s a crucial buy-side partner.
“The Bushwick reputation for superior service is unparalleled, primarily because of our relationships with the industry’s most reputable growers,” Marc told me. “Through the years, we’ve developed lasting relationships with growers of potatoes, carrots, onions, cabbage, and sweet corn. In fact, fresh carrots have been a mainstay for us at Bushwick Commission in addition to potatoes. Canadian growers have been a valuable source of fresh carrot supplies in the middle of the summer.”
These crucial carrot shipments from Canada are then placed into long-term storage, allowing Bushwick to offer supplies well into the fall and winter months. The company then transitions down south, where it has shippers who handle Mexican-grown carrots fresh from the field that are packed and shipped in Texas. Currently, Bushwick is in the middle of the Texas/Mexican carrot season, which provides ample supplies for retailers and foodservice operators until the season returns to Canada.
As Marc jumped to the next produce category in Bushwick’s lineup—onions—he highlighted another key to the company’s success: Bushwick’s relationship with some of the nation’s most reliable long-haul carriers.
“We’re able to accommodate our customers’ needs better than anyone else thanks to our carrier partners who help us deliver on time at a moment’s notice from anywhere in the country,” Marc emphasized. “This comes in handy as we ship onions year-round from Idaho, Oregon, and Washington storage areas during the fall and winter months, and Texas and New Mexico in the spring. The steady supply from our Northwest growers provides a fantastic source of onion stability, which lasts into the early spring when we switch to onion growers in South Texas.”
A few other produce aisle staples that Bushwick handles year-round include fresh cabbage and sweet corn.
“Shippers in Southern Florida are a great source of both of these items all winter and into the early part of the spring. We are about to transition to the Georgia-grown crops, which last until early July. From there, we continue to handle cabbage and corn from various shippers that harvest along the eastern coast up into the northern areas like Delaware and upstate New York,” Marc concluded. “All in all, Bushwick is proud to be on the leading edge of many of the produce aisle’s key categories.”
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