In NYC, there are plenty of produce vendors on the street that sell aesthetic, fresh fruit for less than cost conscious mega-chains, like Wal Mart, Trader Joes, and Wegmans. The big chains have negotiating power, wholesale discounts, and economies of scale to help them profit on tiny margins. So, how is it that my small, local, fruit stand can outcompete pricewise with national chains and still stay afloat?
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I read a biography of a guy whose parents ran a small fruit and flower stand in NYC. They were able to offer better prices because they got the fruit and flowers from a wholesaler and did some of the trimming and whatnot themselves. Think about how fruit and veg tend to be cleaned and packaged at a regular grocer and then compare that to what you see at some produce stands.
Not all produce is the same quality and degree of ripeness.
Prime produce for a big store needs to be a little less ripe to survive handling and distribution, also look prime on their shelves for a longer time.
A little riper and there is more spoilage with shelf life so if it can be turned over quicker, there is a market as it sells for less due to it’s condition
Wal-Mart has not been “cost conscience” for a very long time. They use that reputation and loss leaders to keep the perception up but if you really start comparing prices you’ll find they’re comparable if not higher than most places.
I always try to buy my bananas on the street in NYC, not only because they’re almost half as much (except for TJ’s), but the vendors are awesome. This [article from the NYT](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/04/nyregion/the-secret-life-of-the-banana.html) speaks specifically about bananas, but it’s a nice peek behind the curtain.
During the shipping of produce there are specific temperature requirements. If during shipping, the temperature falls below or above the acceptable levels, the quality grading of the produce declines. As a result, the big box stores may not take the produce. To liquidate, the produce is heavily discounted and are sold to individuals/street vendors. Most of the produce in Chinatown comes from this source
The overhead of these guys is next to nothing: They have a truck, a sales table and a business license.
They don’t have to pay for warehousing, fleets of trucks, HR overhead, IT overhead, and all of these things have to be tacked onto the price you pay at a walmart.
I work in the industry and it’s kind of a scam…a lot of these produce markets sell product that has been rejected from the chain stores that has been past it’s prime. When produce is delivered it typically needs to be sold by 8-10 days from when it was picked (10-14 days from when it was packed) . If a shipment arrives late it will be rejected by the chain store and resold to a farmers market or a processor. So when you get produce from a farmers market it is eat or freeze with in a couple days instead of a week to 10 days. It’s all the same product from the same farms but is just “eat it now”
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