Produce distributor carves niche in private label market

Fresh Pro. Kings. Roche Bros. Balducci’s.

Regardless of what the label says, though, it all comes from the same place – RLB.

About 72 percent of the West Caldwell, N.J.-based full-line deli and produce distributor’s anticipated sales of $115 million for 2012 is in produce. Of that, a solid 15 percent is in fresh-cut, most of it private label for customers that range from the Kings chain of 25 New Jersey area supermarkets and a chain of 1,200 convenience stores in the eastern U.S. to Whole Foods and Balducci’s.

And the segment just keeps growing.

A company is born
RLB is what resulted when the produce procurement arm of Kings was spun off after the chain was sold to the UK-based Marks & Spencer in the 1980s.

“From there, we started getting into the wholesale business,” said Floyd Avillo, RLB Food Distributors president and CEO. The company was owned by the family that had sold Kings, but Avillo and Executive Vice President and CFO Pat A. Mele III purchased RLB in 2007. Its fresh-cut operation sprouted when at some point in the mid-1990s, a customer asked if RLB could provide cored pineapples.

“We started doing it and next thing you know, using our Marks & Spencer connections, they came in and we designed a room and we started doing everything the right way like they did in Europe – washing systems, cold rooms, cold floors, proper handling techniques,” Avillo said. “They were very big into food production, food safety – they were way ahead of what we were doing over here in the U.S. and we just tagged along.

“But by the time the room was built, it was already too small.”

A few years later, RLB constructed another addition – about 6,000 square feet. That brought space for processing to approximately 12,000 square feet.

Meanwhile, RLB expanded its customer base from mainly supporting one store chain to providing fresh-cut and repacks to customers that cover a wide spectrum including  convenience and club stores, airport kiosks, foodservice, food manufacturers and specialty foods markets.

“We realized this could be a business and went after a little bit more,” Avillo said. “It’s exploded.

“We kind of just filled a void for our customers.”

With 23 trucks, the company handles its own distribution.

“We drive four-and-a-half to five hours at the farthest point,” Mele said. “We go from northern Virginia and also go outside of Boston.”

Creating a niche
RLB has focused on providing high-quality, fresh product.

“We were in the produce business, so we understand how to buy good produce for flavor and sugar,” Avillo said. “We just take that and roll it into fresh cut.

“We have certain product specs, certain criteria we’re expecting, and that’s what we try to maintain all year.”

They produce and deliver product seven days a week. Most of what they make has a five- to seven-day shelf life.

“We weren’t the type that was going to make it once a week and put it in a warehouse and distribute it, which some of the big houses do,” Avillo said. “We’re a high-quality producer.”

All of the fruit is put through a chlorinated pre-wash, though none except apple slices is treated after cutting.

While the company used to do more machine cutting, much of the fruit is sliced by hand now.

“What we found is that although the machine can cut produce quicker, the quality of the fruit is not necessarily better,” Mele said. “When the machine’s hitting it, it’s more of a blunt cut – even if the blade’s sharp – than a sharp knife. We get higher yields when we hand cut them versus the machine cut. And the pieces are uniform.”

Cut fruit immediately goes into a 31-degree chiller, which Mele said also helps maximize shelf life.

Diverse product mix
With about 3,000 SKUs now, the company is always adding to the lineup.

“Customers have an idea, they call us, and we’ll work on coming up with that concept,” Mele said. “We’ll see if it works for shelf life, for shipping and all of the things that go along with it.

“We also have an internal development team where we work on new items, then we offer them out to our customers.”

For its supermarket customers, RLB provides a host of fresh-cut products including fruit trays, single-serve salads, ingredients for salad bars and stir-fry and grilling packages that include sliced veggies, herbs, seasonings and oils. Aqua packs with sticks of cut celery or carrots in distilled water are big sellers.

The company also makes salsas – mango, watermelon, pico de gallo – and uses machines to dice the fresh ingredients. They also produce soup kits that include fresh-cut produce, seasonings and a recipe from fall through spring.

RLB has particularly seen a lot of growth in the snack sector and has been excited about the mix of products they have developed – everything from single-serve grab-and-go fruit cups and salads to apple slices with accompaniments that include caramel, peanut butter or cheddar – Wisconsin cheddar, the same as what they sell to their deli customers.

And RLB is banking on even bigger growth ahead.

“My kids are in their 20s and this is kind of what they’re used to,” said Avillo. “I don’t even think it’s niche anymore.

“I think it’s a way of life.”

By Kathy Gibbons, contributing editor



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