Fierman Produce has been part of the Hunts Point Terminal Market for nearly a century. As a fourth-generation, family-owned distributor, our reputation rests on quality, reliability, and trust. Those values remain central to everything we do, but tradition alone is not enough.

Operators now expect speed, transparency, and digital convenience. The question for terminal market distributors isn’t if we evolve - it’s how fast we can.

Why Terminal Market Distributors Must Rethink Growth 

For decades, Hunts Point has run on a familiar rhythm: buyers arrive before dawn, walk the stalls, negotiate face-to-face, and head back to their kitchens. It’s part of the market’s DNA. But ritual isn't a strategy.

• Time is tight. Chefs can’t spend hours driving to the Bronx to place an order.
• Margins are thinner. Errors and rework are costs no one can afford.
• Expectations are higher. Real-time inventory, clean payments, and order tracking are the baseline now.

Waiting for foot traffic is survival - not growth. We needed to meet customers where they are, and often, that’s not inside the market.

Rising Costs and Changing Expectations

The broader food distribution industry faces labor shortages and rising costs. Operators demand predictability, not guesswork. At the same time, ecommerce has reshaped expectations: buyers order everything else online with real-time visibility and near-instant delivery. Why should wholesale produce feel different?

Terminal market distributors must adapt, or risk losing not just orders, but entire customer bases.

From Reactive to Proactive: Building Growth Beyond Foot Traffic

For most of our history, sales were reactive. If a buyer passed our stall, we had their business. If not, the opportunity was gone. That ceiling kept us steady, but it limited our reach.

So, we changed our sales model and hired outbound distributor sales reps (DSRs), which is rare in terminal markets to lead and grow the business, not wait for it.  

The Role of Outbound Distributor Sales Reps

Outbound DSRs meet customers where they are. They move from order takers to consultative partners. Imagine a rep calling a restaurant in July to say: “We have organic bell peppers in season, they’d be perfect for your summer menu.” That isn’t reacting, it’s shaping demand.

Breaking the Geography Barrier

Today, restaurants across the five boroughs place orders directly through our app. New customers never need to set foot in Hunts Point. Geography stops being a barrier. We remain proud market distributors—with a larger reach.

Digital Tools That Make Growth Real

Hiring reps was half the solution. The other half was giving them the right tools.

For years, orders came via phone calls, texts, and emails. That created delays and mistakes. Sales reps re-typed line items late at night. Customers waited for product confirmation. If a text didn’t send, everyone felt it the next morning.

With Pepper, integrated with Produce Pro ERP, we’ve transformed:

• From manual orders to digital confidence. Reps walk into meetings with live inventory, pricing, and promotions. Customers order with accuracy and reliable payments.
• Order-ahead and will call. Buyers place a will-call order in the app and pick up later, like Starbucks order-ahead, applied to produce.
• Frictionless onboarding. A restaurant can become a Fierman customer without ever stepping into the market.

Technology hasn’t replaced our relationships—it’s strengthened them by removing friction so we can focus on what matters most: trust and reliability.

Overcoming Resistance to Change 

Change is rarely easy. Many buyers told me, “We have been doing this for fifty years, and we are not changing.”

My response was simple. “Do you use Amazon? Do you have an iPhone?” Almost always, they laughed. But they understood the point. If they could order groceries or clothes online, they can order produce the same way.

Ironically, those who resisted the most have become some of our App’s biggest supporters. Once they tried the new system, they were convinced.

Even our own sales team, who initially resisted, embraced it once they saw the benefits. For years, they had accepted long nights of manual data entry as part of the job. With modern tools, they reclaimed that time and put it toward building business instead of chasing paperwork.

When people see how much time and frustration a new system saves, there is no going back.

Data-Driven Pricing and Competitive Advantage

Modernization isn’t just about efficiency, it changes how we compete.

• Smarter pricing strategies. Real-time data lets us run promotions strategically instead of reactively.
• Stronger customer relationships. With fewer errors, we can focus on helping operators grow.
• AI-powered insights. From pricing to forecasting, precision is no longer optional, it’s the foundation of survival.

With outbound reps supported by digital tools, we’re no longer just a stall in the market. We’re shaping demand and redefining what a terminal distributor can be.

Terminal Markets in Transition

Terminal markets thrive on competition and community. Multiple distributors side by side keep the market sharp and ensure customers get both quality and value.

If only a handful of companies evolve, the entire ecosystem suffers. A single modernized stall will not preserve the market. What makes Hunts Point strong is a community of operators all raising the bar together.

As more distributors adopt new digital or AI tools  such as real-time ordering, streamlined payments, and transparent pricing, the market as a whole becomes more resilient. Customers gain reliable options. Pricing remains competitive but fair. The vibrancy of the market is preserved.

At Fierman, growing our business is not about leaving competitors behind. It is about showing what is possible. A fourth-generation company can adapt and still stay true to its roots. And when one distributor demonstrates what is achievable, others follow.

In my view, modernization is not survival of the fittest. It is survival of the market. The more we evolve together, the stronger Hunts Point will remain for the next generation.

The Future of Terminal Market Produce Distribution

The future of terminal markets won’t be written in nostalgia. Younger chefs and operators grew up ordering everything from their phones. If distributors refuse to adapt, they’ll lose relevance.

At Fierman, we believe the future is digital-first, but not digital-only. Customers should have choices: walk the market in person, place a will-call order in the app, or schedule delivery online. Flexibility doesn’t erase tradition, it builds on it.

Technology also opens doors we couldn’t imagine before:

• AI-powered recommendations to shape menus
• Mobile-first ordering that extends our reach
• Direct-to-consumer trends that bring buyers closer to the source
  

Modernization is not about short-term survival. It’s about long-term relevance. Tradition gave us our foundation. Precision and adaptability will carry us forward.

About the Author

Scott Tepper is the Director of Operations of Fierman Produce, a fourth-generation, family-owned distributor at the Hunts Point Terminal Market. Under his leadership, Fierman has paired nearly a century of produce expertise with a forward-looking growth strategy. By hiring outbound sales reps and adopting technology integrated with Produce Pro ERP, Scott has positioned Fierman to scale while preserving its reputation for quality and trust. Fierman Produce selected Pepper as its technology partner for its deep understanding of food distribution, seamless ERP integration, and commitment to helping distributors grow in the AI era.

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