Beck Quality Wholesale Produce

During this quarantine, pandemic, social distancing period, whatever label your county happens to fall under, many small (and large) businesses have been forced to make some tough decisions.  I have been observing many of these first hand as my dad is dealing with his business.  In the state of Pennsylvania, along with many other states, only essential or life sustaining businesses are allowed to remain open.  A small local business near me has made some drastic changes, so much so that I and many others have just now been made aware that they exist.

This business, called Beck Quality Wholesale Produce, has apparently been in my area for years, but most locals did not realize they were there.  It has been around since 1909 and has sold primarily to restaurants, small grocery store chains, and local convenience stores.  Last week, since most restaurants are shut down and many people are not leaving their homes, Beck Quality Wholesale Produce announced that they would start selling to personal households.  They immediately ran an ad in the local paper (which more people are paying attention to because of staying inside) and made several posts in various populous groups on Facebook announcing that they will be doing home deliveries of special packages designed specifically to provide a household with one week of fresh produce.  Since they are primarily a wholesale business, primarily selling B to B, they had to add a “shopping area” inside of their building for customers to be able to come in to pick out and pick up their produce if they choose.  By changing their selling strategy, Beck’s has increased their market so much that they have consistently had a line out their door.  By finding the pain that people were experiencing by not being able to find fresh produce and not being able to leave their houses, Beck’s also captured a segment of the population that did not even know they existed.