This week, Vision Import Group are celebrating their 10 year anniversary. The New Jersey based company was established by 3 individuals who were all highly experienced in the world of fresh produce.
"It is now our 10th anniversary being in business," said Ronnie Cohen, one of the co-founders. "It was a collaboration between myself, Raul Millan & Bill Vogel. Raul and I were working for another company and was trading with Bill for about 5 years and then the stars were in alignment and we collectively decided to begin Vision Import Group."
From left to right: Allan Napolitano, Yen-Han Wuu, George Uribe, Angela Aronica, Ronnie Cohen and Raul Millan.
The company now serves the continental USA and Canada, with their range of tropical fruits and citrus. "We are a New Jersey based fresh produce import business that services the continental USA as well as Canada with our product line up," Cohen said. "We offer limes, mangoes, lemons and pineapples as well as various seasonal items."
Challenging start
Cohen said that shortly after the business was established, the economy was in a tough spot. However, they persevered and learned some valuable lessons on the way, which has enabled them to nurture a successful business.
"When we began our business its wasn’t the best timing as the financial climate was not very favorable," he said. "But Raul and I, with Bill's tutelage and support, persevered and we were very successful in those early years. That taught us a lot and keeps us grounded even in today’s market place."
Products and keys to success
With their range of tropical fruits and citrus, Vision Import Group quickly followed the path of providing a balance between grower and customer. In this way, they have forged long-term relationships and are always looking to add value for all groups.
"We began our business with limes, mangoes and lemons and today those remain our core items," Cohen recalled. "We feel that a lot of our success has been the ability to maintain the relationships we had when we began and continue to maintain until today. Our vision, no pun intended (maybe slightly) has always been to be grower oriented as well as customer focused. This is not a secret, just time well spent developing and maintaining relationships on both the supply and customer side."
"So in short, our business is much the same, we just have more supply and customers today," he added. "Our mantra is “Todos Tenemos Que Comer”, which is translated “We All Have To Eat”. The definition to us means that from the grower to the end-consumer there needs to be value received by all in that chain."
Onward
Vision Import Group have seemingly enjoyed a great recipe for success, with their selection of products along with their goal of balancing the relationships with growers and customers alike. Looking forward, the company are considering expanding their product line. Content with the success so far, the group plan on using the same strategies for success to cement their ongoing success into the future.
"We are looking to expand our product line up while marinating our customer base and developing more," Cohen concluded. "We will do this with the same formula that we have used these years which has been successful. We are also exploring the vertical opportunities in our business to make us more valuable to all in our business and now look forward to the next ten years with even more success."
For more information:
Ronnie Cohen
Vision Import Group
Tel: +1 (201) 968-1190