We work with a broker at the Chelsea produce market in Chelsea, MA. Twice a week, I email him an order for the produce we need from the national market, specifying details about each product (size, grower, production region). He uses his knowledge and relationships to buy the best product he can, from the large wholesalers there. The market has around 240 dock bays, and is open from 2 am to noon. We send a truck down to arrive at 8 am, and pickup the produce from the wholesalers where our broker ordered.
The overall produce market is structured into growers, that grow and harvest the crops. Packers, that purchase crops from the growers, wash, cool and pack them, and shippers, that purchase from packers. The wholesalers in Boston purchase from shippers, and sell to regional retail and wholesale customers. Many companies are vertically integrated, and own multiple links in this chain. Larger groceries and supermarkets either negotiate directly with the packers, or the wholesalers at the Chelsea market. A large store can commit to buying on a large enough scale to drive their retail price below what I can pay wholesale during the peak season for a commodity.
Lots of states use the same names over and over. For example, Portland, OR being named after Portland, Maine. It gets worse, because some states have multiple towns of the same name. There are five different towns in Wisconsin all called Springfield!
I knew that Springfield was used for the Simpsons town because there we so many that used that name, but I thought it was just an oddity or something.
I guess I was indeed in for a surprise!
Thanks for the link!
This is why stuff like chips, soft drinks, cereal, and probably even fruit from large companies always seems so organized together.
There are entire industries of analysts and consultants who work with companies like P&G, Heinz, Frito-Lay, Coca-cola who define shelf layout in every store. It's called a planogram. First time a store employee touches a Driscolls clamshell is likely when the cashier scans it.
You're right about PepsiCo/Frito-Lay and other similar brands stocking shelves themselves, due to product quality and freshness being core parts of their branding.
What i wonder is how driscoll and others are all grouped together in the supermarket... The only difference is the label. Are they from the same growers fields? How does a grocery store receive its berries?