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Central Market buyers seek local produce; First step for producers is to study the market |
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By MONETTE TAYLOR | South Central Texas Edition |
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July 18, 2002 -- If they built it, would people come? When the first Central Market opened on Jan. 22, 1994, on North Lamar in Austin, the intention was never to have a chain of stores, according to the HEB owners. Just a good, fresh, and high-quality food supermarket to serve the up-scale Hyde Park area, along with the diverse population of Austin. But the people just keep on coming. The results? The seventh Central Market store is scheduled to open in Plano this month. Other stores are located in San Antonio, Fort Worth, Houston, and Dallas. The Central Markets are designed to be a "fresh market" where people who really know about food and are looking for gourmet items are in heaven. In the original North Lamar store, the variety of products goes on and on: 330 types of beer, 2,200 types of wine, 162 varieties of mustard, 200 types of olive oil, more than 450 types of cheese, more than 500 varieties of fresh produce and 75 to 100 types of organically grown produce. Also, you can find 20 varieties of balsamic vinegar, 100 different pasta sauces, 40 to 70 varieties of fresh fish, almost 100 varieties of seafood, 44 types of hand-made sausage and 50 types of fresh-baked bread. Obviously, procuring fresh products and produce is more than a full-time job. Ron Smith, Texas produce field buyer, and Lee Crenshaw, perishable procurement director for the North Lamar store, are constantly looking for producers who can grow the types of produce needed by the stores. "I was in the seed business for 10 years (with HEB Food and Drug), so HEB hired me to bring some production background into their produce office and use my connections, as far as growers I knew, as far as growing for us," said Smith, who has a degree in agronomy. "I work with our growers, as far as the products we're looking for, and because of my background with seed companies, I can recommend some varieties that we'd like for them to grow." As the Central Markets expand, more producers are wanting to get on the procurement list, and Smith has vital information for them. "What I used to always do with growers is tell them to 'study your market,' before you ever buy or plant a seed. There's nothing more disappointing than to have a grower call you and say, 'I've got squash ready, will you buy it?' Well, there's so many steps we should have gone through, before he even bought the seed," said Smith. Selling produce through the market isn't just a matter of bringing it into the store, to be stocked on the long lines of fresh fruit and vegetables. Central Market has certain specifications that must be met to even be considered for procurement. "We need to make sure they (producers) understand what our 'specs' are, because we have quality specs, and they need to understand how we want it packed," added Smith. Some of the specifications include good refrigeration while transporting fresh produce, product liability insurance, and the proper auto insurance to transport the produce to the stores. "I've been working on building our grower network around each area, so we'll have certain growers that go to Fort Worth, certain growers that go to Plano ... I try not to have them overlap, because I want it to be a good enough opportunity for each grower," said Smith. While not everything offered at the stores is grown in Texas, Crenshaw and Smith try to "buy Texas." Crenshaw, who started working at Whole Foods during high school, transferred to Central Market a couple of months before the North Lamar store opened in '94. He said that some produce is shipped from California, Colorado, Mexico, Florida and Georgia. Smith is responsible for procuring growers, and travels all over the states, looking at crops and talking with prospective growers. Sometimes, he sets up an appointment in the store to view the produce, and sometimes, he makes trips to the farm. "Ideally, if they're just getting started in it (procurement), they shouldn't even buy seed until they know what they're going for ... until they've visited (with Smith) and found out 'do I have a market for it?' and know about insurance, packaging and specifications. Then, they should start on a small scale and get their feet wet," Smith explained. "I don't ever want anybody to over-produce or overload their boat for me. I'd rather them be short and them have a good experience and make money." Most of the produce in the stores is sold in bulk, said Crenshaw. The customers just gather what they want, and right now, tomatoes, watermelons, hand-shelled peas and cantaloupe are in big supply and demand. As far as speciality crops, Smith said he usually tries to get a grower he already has to plant a couple of rows of speciality crops, rather than find a new producer. Smith works very closely with the Texas Department of Agriculture, as far as helping them promote the "Go Texan" program, and serves on the advisory board with Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs. Both Smith and Crenshaw claim there never seems to be enough hours in the day to do everything they need to do, but they enjoy trying. The hardest part is having to say "no" to somebody. The best part is dealing with the local producers and growers, said Smith. "My relationship with my growers (is the best thing), when I can take something and make it work," said Smith in closing. (Ron Smith can be reached at the Central Market, North Lamar location in Austin, at 512-206-1000. He is the primary contact for prospective growers.) |
