The show must go on, even in a pandemic, and indeed it has. Welcome to the 42nd annual Food Trade News Market Study. Our team has been hard at work during the entirety of COVID-19 as we sought our own new normal (seriously, when did you ever see basically no photos in an issue?). We made sure we brought you, our readers, the most up to date news and views in our region as the world shut down around us. And we made it happen! The study which covers all channels of retail distribution in 70 counties in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, New York and Connecticut markets, is now ready for consumption. It goes where no other publication dares to go, giving you the latest statistics and information available and the in-depth analysis we know you depend on. Your support during these unprecedented times is appreciated more than you know. Lastly, a humble thank you to our advertisers for your support throughout what has been the strangest year in our lifetime and in particular for your support of this Market Study issue. We couldn’t do what we do without you!
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New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has created a Restart and Recovery Advisory Council and has asked the food industry to be a part of the manufacturing and supply chain committee as New Jersey reopens. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, on the other hand, is stuck in his “traffic light” reopening system where he and his health secretary Dr. Rachel Levine are calling the shots. So, Philadelphia and its surrounding counties are set to go to the green level as we go to press. However, for some there are different shades of green. While restaurants, hair and nail salons and gyms are reopening, they are not able to open at anywhere near capacity and it leaves lots of questions about which small retail businesses will survive and how they propose to do so. As for me, I am still pretty much staying away from people and limiting my excursions out of the house to mostly outdoor activities, curbside pick-ups or to the market, which has been trying to say the least. I live in the bucolic part of Bucks County, PA. The latest statistics on cases/deaths are encouraging. There have been zero deaths and less than 14 new cases per day in the last four days as of this writing. In our town, we have had 26 cases and no deaths in the past four months. But, COVID lurks in the darkest corners, so I am still living pretty much on the red/ yellow level. Stay safe.
That being said, as we loosen up the stringent stay-at-home regulations, I pause to think about what I have learned about life, people and myself during this pandemic and how to prepare for the second wave of COVID-19, because it is coming; this is not over yet. My home has been “Marie Kondo’d” and the donations and consignments have been made. It is clean and any trace of clutter is gone. The deck and patio in the back of my home have been super-spruced up so the summer weekends, usually spent down the shore, will be spent in an oasis (cue the ocean sound machine). I have realized that my adult children are actually good company. We’ve had lively discussions about almost every topic, resurrected some old family recipes and learned the “fine art” of cleaning. I have cried tears of sadness over friends lost to COVID-19 and tears of joy for new lives born during this pandemic. What I know for sure: take nothing for granted; hope for the best and prepare for the worst; make a plan and then make yet another plan; find the good in everyone; and enjoy some part of each day in quarantine even if it is just a phone call to keep in touch with friends and loved ones. What is your greatest lesson learned during the pandemic?
Back in April, Soup to Nutz posed many questions about what the new normal in the retail food industry would look like. We may be able to answer some of those questions now while other answers are still unfolding. We went back to Consumer Brands Association for updates on the surveys conducted over the last 14 weeks. They found that a full 76 percent of those consumers questioned said they are optimistic about the next six months and the USA’s ability to find a treatment or vaccine and reopen the economy. However, many are still quite concerned about the COVID-19 virus. Protests surrounding the death of George Floyd have deflected concern over COVID-19, but 78 percent of the people surveyed expressed concern that there will be an uptick in positive cases due to those protests. Along those lines, consumers also want the companies whose brands they buy to use their platforms to engage in social justice issues, like the protests and the ensuing rebranding/discontinuing of many iconic products. Concerns over access to food and cleaning products has lessened overall but has seen a slight increase in the past few weeks. Food insecurity remains high even though monetary donations to local food banks has seen a huge increase.
Retailers and manufacturers alike have “given until it hurts.” The stories are too many to tell, but in addition to making sure their stores were stocked and clean, every retailer made sure to connect with and contribute to their communities in some meaningful way. Even during the indescribably horrific looting that two of Jeff Brown’s ShopRites endured (one for over 15 hours straight, the other for two consecutive nights), his people were distributing food to neighbors who had no access to any stores and he offered to Uber or Lyft customers to the next nearest Brown’s owned store. Jeff even had prescriptions transferred so medications weren’t missed. Lynmar Builders spearheaded the reconstruction which was completed in a record five days and the results were stunning! During the month of June, Philabundance has hosted weekly drive-through emergency food distributions at Citizen’s Bank Park with the help of the Phillies and the National Guard loading cars with about 35 pounds of perishables including fresh produce, milk and bread. This is all thanks to the USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program partners Balford Farms, Bimbo Bakeries and Seashore Fruit and Produce Co. The donation of food and money seems to be endless, but the need still exists. Burns Family Supermarket owner Pat Burns reached out to the leadership at Wakefern to help secure trailers full of vegetables and pasta to help local food banks and hunger relief agencies in local Philadelphia counties. Wakefern was able to procure the items and provided them at cost, and Burns’ Fresh Grocers covered about 40 percent of that cost through a monetary donation. Pat said, “Our company has always been committed to ending food insecurity in our communities. Even though we sell food, we have to also be community partners with our local hunger relief agencies and local elected officials to work together to ensure that no one is left hungry. We are all in this together and we can all get through this together.” Amen to that.
And, what is the store of the future going to look like? For one thing, location is so yesterday. With online sales up 92 percent, many have enjoyed this new option. More apps have been installed on my phone for online purchases in the past three months than should have been. And quite frankly, with all the new rules and regulations in brick and mortar stores, it is easier to order online for curbside pick-up or home delivery. The differences from retailer to retailer are mind boggling. At one store, they wipe down the entire checkout belt in between customers and you must wait to put your items on it until the cashier has completed the task. At another, they do nothing of the kind and couldn’t care less if you are three feet from another person. And yet another, the moveable plexiglass barriers have been just that, moved out of the way. Self-checkout is the answer. There are still out of stocks, but the perimeter departments seem to be doing better than their center store counterparts. The store experience is dead, at least for now. Now it’s more like doing a dreaded chore. Part of that store experience, the self-serve bars and food courts, are still sitting idly by but to be sure the entrepreneurial retailer minds are working to reconfigure that space into one that drives revenue. For example, the Wegmans in Warrington, PA has turned the self-serve Med Bar into a service bar complete with sneeze barriers. It also requires an employee to be there at all times. This experiment will be telling as retailers work on their new normal. Restaurants are open and many have moved dining options outdoors where available. I checked in with a friend in the foodservice distribution business. Sales are climbing daily but supply and delivery issues are keeping them from rebounding faster. As suspected, throw away menus are a real thing as are masked and gloved servers. All of this is a work in progress with updates to follow.
COVID-19 has forced many of our favorite golf outings, food shows and industry gatherings to be cancelled this year. The Mid Atlantic Food Trade Organization (MAFTO) has cancelled most of the year’s events, but the scholarship program is not one of them. MAFTO president Mark Phander has announced that over the summer, the MAFTO scholarship committee will be reviewing eligible applications for the 2020 MAFTO scholarship. Since 2005, MAFTO has awarded more than $319,000 to MAFTO members’ children and grandchildren and they are looking forward to continuing that tradition. Eligibility is as follows: you must be a member of MAFTO for one year or be a child/stepchild or grandchild of a qualified MAFTO member, so if you’re not a member yet, sign yourself up. The student may receive this scholarship only once, repeat applications will be denied. The applicant must also be a full-time returning college student as a sophomore, junior or senior. First year college freshmen are not eligible to apply. For more information go to www.mafto.org/scholarship.php
The circle of life continues as industry veteran Ron Stubin passed away on June 6 at the age of 85 from complications due to Parkinson’s disease. Ron grew up in Baltimore, MD and served in the Army Reserves. Ron worked in the food industry for his entire career, first for Food Fair and Pantry Pride and later, he ran Philadelphia Brokerage Co., which specialized in meat, for 25 years until he retired. He is survived by his wife of 63 years Barbara (nee Shreiar), his daughter Norma (Gerald) Dworkin, and sons Avrohom (Shoshana) Stubin and Cary Stubin. He will also be missed by his 10 grandchildren. A private graveside funeral was held. The family has requested that contributions in his memory be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation.
Birthday shout outs for the fun in the sun month of June go to: Bill Derbyshire, Liberty Coca Cola; Mark Tarzwell, Mrs. T’s; Jim Burke Sr., Seafood America; Doug Clemens, Clemens Food Group; Tom Morrison, Integrity/ESM; Nancy Rogers-Fluharty, Pace Target Brokers; Jeff Geiges, retired from Acme Markets; Ralph Nagle, industry veteran; and Terri Maloney and Jeff Metzger, Food Trade News/Food World. Buon compleanno a tutti! Special birthday wishes to the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market which celebrates eight years of still being the largest indoor produce marketplace in the country!
Quote of the month: “Life isn’t about being right. It’s about being understanding, compassionate and kind towards one another, regardless of our differences.” Leslie Dwight
Maria can be reached at 443.631.0172 or [email protected].