Buyer's Notes - November 12, 2021
Buyer’s Notes - November 12, 2021
Stefan Misse, Carter Selmes-Blythe, Brody Irvine, Jon Maheswaran, Randy Hooper - Discovery Organics
From Stefan:
Apples - Finally the BC Pink Lady apples are here. And that is the last one off the tree. Generally, it sounds like an overall tough year for all apple growers. The juice volume is huge and “repack it” is the word of the month.
Berries - Pretty clear sailing now for everything except strawberries. They are still under weather constraints in the USA and Mexico has not started in volume yet. Maybe January there?
Citrus - we have both Satsumas and Mandarins now. The Chinese mandarins are going to be dicey with all the Port delays. When we have them, I would advise grabbing a weeks worth at a time to be safe.
Grapefruit – steady here
Lemons – We are only sourcing fancy grade to make sure the quality is there in bulk AND in bags.
Mangos – steady here. Time to promote if you like!
Pears - Steady with nothing new to report.
Pineapples – also looking good on arrivals and future incoming. Promotions are available
From Brody:
Beans – next week we should see our first arrival of Fair Trade beans from Covilli! Always a stalwart of the winter season, we are very much looking forward to seeing these in house again.
Beets – we are helping Myers Organic Farm clean out their cooler (we do this every year) and are receiving the last of their bulk beets. There is a decent amount of small beets arriving which are perfect for pickling and roasting.
Broccoli – this continues to be a topsy turvy crop which is to be expected given the transitional time of year. Within a couple of weeks we should have some market stability as fields slowly open up in the desert regions.
Carrots – local bunched carrots are officially done and we’re moving into the fantastic quality of Ralph’s Greenhouse and Sunrise Organic Farms
Celery – by next weekend we will see the first arrival of celery from our Ecocampos program. Ecocampos is a dedicated and direct relationship with our pals in Mexico that produce beets, cabbage, celery, lettuce, and kales for us each year. We are super excited to see the first arrival! Expect pricing to trickle up as US Thanksgiving always impacts supply and pricing.
Chard – the last of the PNW organic chard has been picked and shipped up here. The Siri and Sons product is very nice.
Daikon – we’ve got some BC grown white and purple daikon arriving from some amazing farms in the Kootenays. Get it while it’s hawt!
Kale – we have all the kale! Ask us for some volume discounts and set up a solid display on the shelf.
Lettuce – California lettuce pricing on a yo-yo presently. The only stable price is Iceberg, and it’s holding high. Conventional iceberg is currently more expensive than organic. Our first arrival of lettuce from Ecocampos is slated for next weekend and we are ready to promote (romaine especially!)
Green Onions – Siri and Sons continue to be our focus brand with consistently top-notch shelf life.
Radish – lots of issues with radish quality out of California right now so we’ll be a bit limited until we can bring in some Mexican grown product mid week.
Spinach – a highly promotable and gorgeous crop right now.