Emilio loving every Melbourne Market minute

BGP Produce is a wholesale fruit and vegetable business that has been operating out of the Melbourne Market for about 35 years.

What do you specialise in?

We specialise in all the hard produce – potatoes, pumpkins, onions, garlic and watermelons.

Where do you source your produce from?

We source our produce from growers Australia-wide. We have growers that we’ve been dealing with for years. It’s good because they’re still in business and we’re still in business. We have great relationships with our growers; you get to know them so well that they’re just like family.

Who are your customers?

Most of our customers are independent retailers and the providore sector.

How did you get into the fruit and veg business?

My dad came out from Italy and was a vegetable grower and sold his produce through the market and after school, a merchant wholesaler who did business with my father was looking for a truck driver so I applied for the job. I was 18 at the time and things were pretty tough. I didn’t want to work in an office so I jumped at the opportunity to work in a stall in, what was then, the new Melbourne Market as a truck driver and salesman.

That’s how I started my market life and after four years I joined another firm, formed a small partnership in export and it was just a step from there to BGP Produce.

I’m just over 70 now, and been in the business 40 odd years.

What has changed at the market over the years?

Supermarkets have taken a lot of business away from the traditional fruiterer and growers have really had to keep up with new farming methods and become much more efficient than they were 50 years ago.

Of course, more recently, we have moved to the new Melbourne Market in Epping which is a beautiful place to work with a lovely atmosphere, although it is much more expensive to run a business from.

I would say that our costs have gone up about 30 per cent comprising labour and the extra time it takes to do a delivery because the market is so much bigger than the old market.

What is the best thing about working at the market?

For me, I really enjoy dealing with people every day. Over the years I have loved every minute I’ve worked in the markets.

For me, I’ve grown up in this environment and I love it. I’ve been at it over 40 years and I still enjoy coming here every day.

What is most challenging about the industry?

It’s often a challenge to meet our customers’ expectations and supply them with what they really want. 

We have to deal with a lot more varieties than what we have in the past. Take potatoes, for example; years ago you ordered potatoes and that was it.

Now our customers order potatoes by variety, they either want Sebago, Dutch cream, Nicola, or Purple Congo to name a few which means that you have to go out and find the produce.

What would you change at the market if you could?

I would change the hours, definitely the hours, to encourage more young people to join the industry.

What would you say to young people who want to join the industry?

It’s a great industry to get into. There are a lot of opportunities for young people who want to get ahead, but they’ve got to love it; they’ve got to love fresh produce and they’re heart needs to be in it.

What is the secret to a successful business?

It is important to develop good relationships with your customers, be straight forward with them, meet their needs and have good quality produce and service for them at all times.

What does the future hold for the fruit and vegetable industry?

Independent retailers and fruiterers need to move with the times and adapt their businesses to their customers’ needs so that they choose to shop with them rather than in a supermarket.

Customers are always going to get fresher quality and product knowledge from their local fruiterer.