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Consumers in the Driver’s Seat
Local is hot here, as everywhere. The region’s retailers can satisfy whatever the consumer’s preference—from a diehard locavore (Maryland has more than 140 farmers’ markets) to a chain store customer looking for a juicier summer tomato.
The demand for local is greater among retailers than foodservice. “Chain stores want local,” confirms Lee Salins, of Lee Salins, LLC, and Teddy Bear Produce, in Easton. And demand for ‘local’ is moving beyond the Shore’s traditional commodities. “We can’t get enough local asparagus every year,” he notes.
The “Maryland’s Best” program also does its part, promoting production throughout the state. There’s even a YouTube channel with videos that retailers can use in-store. “The videos of farmers in the produce sector alone have been seen more than 3.46 million times,” notes Bartenfelder.
Consumers are also demanding broader product range, and not just among the core metro consumer. Ambra Dolan manages the Fruit Bowl, a two-store specialty candy and produce retailer in Cumberland and Grantsville, more than 100 miles west of Baltimore. “We get more calls for fresh herbs,” she reports. Her store sources hyper-local fresh produce from Maryland and Pennsylvania growers, within 30 miles.
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