S. Katzman Produce Inc., and Katzman Berry Corp., supply a full range of fruits and vegetables to customers in the Northeast, United States. Recognized as one of the leading wholesaler/distributors of quality produce in the Hunts Point Terminal Market, Katzman’s success comes from over 100 years of working with many of the best-known growers and shippers in the industry. 

 

With a wide range of customers -- including retailers, independent supermarkets, gourmet outlets, food service distributors/purveyors, caterers, and restaurants -- our customers demand high levels of quality and reliable supply, and we pride ourselves on exceeding their expectations 365 days a year. Now in our third generation of family ownership (and fourth generation coming up through the ranks as well), we proudly stand behind every transaction.

 

Our Mission: "To be the most reliable source for high quality produce at fair prices. We pride ourselves on long term relationships built over years of mutual trust and respect. Whether supplying a small local shop or an international retail chain, we treat all our sales with the same level of commitment. We are partners with all our suppliers and customers, and it is these relationships which allow us to do what we do each day.”


About Katzman


Our Story ➳

The Katzman family has been in the produce business for over 100 years. Stephen Katzman is third generation of ownership, and his children are proudly following in his footsteps.

 

Samuel Katzman started with a horse and wagon in the 1890’s. In the 1930’s he moved to the Bronx Terminal Market, and his innovation of bunching greens changed the industry and truly began the family business. Later he moved to the Washington Street Market and worked out of a store on West Street. His son Harold, who had left to open a roadside stand on US 1 in Florida in the 1950’s, came back to work in the business with him. When the Hunts Point Market opened in 1967, Harold moved the business back to the Bronx where it has been ever since.

 

Stephen Katzman started working for his father at the age of 13 and after college came into the business full time. Stephen took over the business from his father in the late 1980’s and continued to grow the business. In 1995, he started Katzman Berry Corp.; in 1997 he launched Sharkey’s Trucking; in 2003, he opened a fruit division, and then in 2005, he opened a specialty division.

 

From Samuel Katzman’s horse and wagon, to Harold Katzman’s roadside stand in Florida, to a wholesale business in the old Washington Street Market in Manhattan, and then to the new Hunts Point Market in 1967… the hard work and determination that started with selling vegetables off of a horse and wagon led S. Katzman Produce to become one of the largest produce operations in the Hunts Point Terminal Market today.

 

The customer base has grown and now reaches the entire Northeast of the United States, covering both the retail and foodservice segments of the market, with the full range of both organic and conventional fruits and vegetables. 

 

Today, Stephen Katzman and his team, which has gone from 20 employees and 13 items back in 1975 to 350 employees and over 2,000 items today, stick to the same principles that have led to the continued success and growth of the business year after year.

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Message from Stephen Katzman 

"Here at S. Katzman Produce, we're passionate about fruits and vegetables. My passion for the business grew from watching and learning from my mother’s and father's love for the business. 24 hours a day, our team of specialists are receiving and shipping produce from around the world. 

 

As today's increasingly health-conscious population looks for quick fixes and fad diets, the answers keep pointing to what my grandfather knew 100 years ago: simply eat fresh fruits and vegetables. As our market has grown and changed, we maintain that same commitment to getting the finest and freshest produce for our customers. When all is said and done, we are not much different from when my grandfather started with a horse and wagon… we just have a bigger wagon now.

 

Today at Katzman Produce, we have an increased focus on food safety and traceability. Our organic business continues to grow, and we source from local farmers whenever it is available. These are important industry trends, and Katzman is committed to maintaining our leadership position. But in the end, there's no substitute for that close relationship with the grower. We foster and maintain the same close ties with our grower/shippers that my father and grandfather appropriately fostered long before the trends of traceability and locally-grown produce were making front page news. As we have grown more international and more complex, our foundation is still built on our strong relationships with our grower/shippers and our customers." 

 

  - Stephen Katzman

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Facility ➳

S. Katzman Produce/Katzman Berry Corp. is one of the largest operators in the Hunts Point Market. We have over one million cubic feet of refrigerated cold storage, which is separated into various climate-controlled environments. This allows us to maintain each product at its ideal temperature, as well as maintain a separation between non-compatible produce commodities. Our cold storage is equipped with temperature alarms, which notify us in real time of any variance outside of the set temperature range. 

 

We have a state-of-the-art computer and inventory system, insuring proper rotation and traceability of stock at all times. We are SQF-certified, USDA GHP/GAP-certified, Food Defense Certified, and each of our shipping, receiving, and cooling areas are wired with 24-hour closed circuit video monitoring. 

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Services ➳

Katzman is a full-service wholesaler/distributer and a true support system for all retailers. Our retail sales department sells all items A to Z, runs ad/promotional programs and action-buys when special opportunities arise. Our retail sales department also has direct access to Sharkey’s Trucking, which is another arm of Katzman’s distribution chain. 

 

Sharkey’s Trucking has a refrigerated fleet of 16 box trucks, 9 tractors, and 14 trailers; lift gate and machine jack services are available upon request, delivering 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. 

 

In addition to selling and delivering produce, our sales team offers another benefit at the store level by providing assistance to the stores’ produce managers. Setting up a retail display is an art form. We staff a merchandiser with over 25 years’ experience who does store setups and teaches the store managers how to maintain and switch the displays around for the seasons.


DEPARTMENTS


VEGETABLES/SPECIALTIES   |   FRUIT   |   BERRIES   |   SPECIALTY/POTATOES   |   SEASONAL PRODUCTS

S. Katzman Produce, Katzman Berry Corp., and Sharkey’s Trucking make up the Katzman Group of companies and allow Katzman to fully service our customers from beginning to end. With strong relationships built over time, and partnerships in several other produce companies, we are able to offer year-round support to some of the top grower/shippers in the industry with some of the top labels.

Vegetables / Specialties ➳

The company was originally founded on a specialization in vegetables from the South and East Coast of the United States. Initially selling 15 different items, the company now represents over 1,000 items from around the world. If it’s a vegetable, we sell it… and if you find something we don’t have, we’ll find it.

 

The Vegetable department sources from across the United States, Europe, Mexico, Central and South America, supplying all the major products on a year-round basis.


Contacts:  718-991-4700 

Rick Romano :

Western Veg

 

rromano@katzmanproduce.com

Ext138 

John Guerra :

Eastern Veg, Hardware

 

jguerra@katzmanproduce.com

Ext 109

Chevonne Sindoni :

Roots, Mushrooms, Micro Greens

 

csindoni@katzmanproduce.com

Ext 100  


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Fruit ➳

To build off our strength in the vegetable and berry departments, in 2003 Katzman acquired additional facilities and opened the Fruit Department. Since then, Katzman has become an important supplier of all the major categories of fruit, including cherries, grapes, pears, melons, citrus and apples, to name a few of the major fresh produce items. 


Contacts : 718 991 4700 

Andrew Brantley :

Fruit

 

abrantley@katzmanproduce.com 

Ext 127

Jose Luis Payamps :

Melons

 

jpayamps@katzmanproduce.com

Ext 125

Paul Jaffa :

Citrus, Kiwi

 

pjaffa@katzmanproduce.com

Ext 134 


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Berries ➳

Since 1995, Katzman has supplied berries from Row A on the Hunts Point Market. Today, Katzman is the leading distributor of Driscoll's berries in New York City and one of the largest berry distributors in the United States. 

 

The Berry Department sells the full category of berries: Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, and Blackberries, in both conventional and organic lines. We pride ourselves on availability every day of the year. 

 

With our strong position in the berry business, we develop programs and work in conjunction with our customers, as 'partners' to grow our mutual berry sales. 


Contacts : 718 589 1400 

Tom Linaris :

Berries, Asparagus, Cranberries, Pomegranate Arils

 

tlinaris@katzmanberry.com

Ext 103


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SPECIALTY / POTATOES ➳

As the demand for specialty vegetables and potatoes increased, Katzman brought on a specialist team and opened additional cold storage areas on Row D of the Hunts Point Market to focus on these products in 2006. In this short period of time, the Specialty group has built on the strengths of S. Katzman Produce to become a strong force in supplying important retailers, food service distributors/purveyors and restaurants. 

 

Getting the myriad of small volume products right takes a different set of suppliers and focus on quality. Our Specialty team is devoted specifically on these commodities to make sure that our customers have the same level of consistency and reliable supply for the small-volume items as they do for the major commodities. 

 

The Specialty department helps our customers differentiate their offering or menus from their competition with unique, harder-to-find items. Our broad supply base means that we can offer full-year supply of the most specialized items. 


Contact :

 

718 991 4700 

 

Felice LaManna Jr :

Specialty Veg

 

flamanna@katzmanproduce.com 

Ext: 411

PAmin Panjwani :

Potatoes, Onions, Carrots

 

apanjwani@katzmanproduce.com

Ext 107


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Seasonal Products ➳

At Katzman Produce, we understand the consumers’ desire for the freshest locally grown fruits and vegetables that can be brought home from a store or placed on their restaurant table. With that knowledge, we are always on the lookout for items that are available only in short periods when in season.

 

Our longstanding relationships with growers throughout New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and surrounding locations strategically puts us front of the line in procuring hard-to-find locally grown items. 



Our Extended Produce Family


Affiliated Companies ➳

 

Top Katz

 

Founded in 1998 as a partnership between S. Katzman Produce and Top Banana, a provider of ripening services and tropical item, also on the Hunts Point Market. The company serves customers around the country with many of the same high quality products used by its two parent companies.

 

www.topkatz.com

 

Global Bloom

 

Founded in 2013 as a counter part for Katzman’s wholesale/distribution business, Global Bloom focuses on imports and exports as well as exclusive grower contracts with chain stores. Our motto is to “cultivate partnerships between the world’s finest growers and merchandisers.

 

www.globalbloom.com

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Friends of the Industry ➳

 

Produce Pete

 

As seen on NBC's "Weekend Today" show, with over 60 years of experience in the produce industry, Produce Pete teaches consumers all about selecting fruits and vegetables. Produce Pete is also the author of "Farmacopeia," a book about the selection, use, storage, and preparation of fruits and vegetables. 

 

www.producepete.com


Careers


Thank you for your interest in our Company. We appreciate the opportunity to review your qualifications. We are committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, alienage or citizenship, disability, marital status, military status, status as a disabled veteran, or any other legally-recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances. 

 

Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act and certain state or local laws. A reasonable accommodation is a change in the way things are normally done that will ensure an equal employment opportunity without imposing an undue hardship on the Company. Please inform our Human Resources Department if you need assistance completing any forms or otherwise participating in the application process. 

 

If we are currently recruiting for the position(s) for which you are applying, we will review your application carefully. So that we can thoroughly consider your skills and abilities, please complete the entire application. If we conclude that your background skills and qualifications fit a position for which we are currently recruiting, we will contact you to schedule an interview. Due to the daily volume of applications we receive, telephone inquiries cannot be met with a response. Please do not contact us once you have submitted your application. If we conclude that your background skills and qualifications fit a position for which we are currently recruiting, we will contact you to schedule an interview.