LIC-based Asian vegetable wholesaler pivots to meet New Yorkers' needs
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Joe Boo (left) founded Asian-Veggies.com, which provides next-day delivery of Asian produce. Photo courtesy of Boo
By David Brand
The outlook was grim for Fresh Goods Trading, a Long Island City-based vegetable wholesaler that delivers Asian produce to stores and markets throughout the Tristate area.
By early April, COVID-19 had forced the buyers to shut down or curtail operations, leaving the family-owned business with a 20,000-square-foot warehouse crammed with rapidly ripening produce, and no place to sell it
“We have pea shoots, watercress, stuff you can’t usually get at a Stop & Shop or Whole Foods,” said Joe Boo, whose father Tai founded the business. “During COVID, the outflow had gone to virtually zero and we were stuck with a load of inventory.”
That’s when Boo, 28, saw an opportunity.
After his father began to sell some of the produce — shelf-life: two weeks — directly to customers, Boo sensed that they could expand the business in that direction. People still wanted the herbs and vegetables that make up their favorite dishes, but when Boo combed Instacart and other grocery delivery services he saw that none were offering the types of produce they sold.
“That’s when I had my ‘Aha’ moment and said, ‘We’re onto something here,’” he said.
Boo developed Asian-Veggies.com using the e-commerce platform Shopify and uploaded his father’s inventory list on April 16. Almost immediately, people began sharing the information on social media and the orders started to pour in. By mid-June, the company was logging 1,200 orders a week and generating $105,000 in sales — a far cry from the $1 million to $2 million a week they earned before the pandemic, but a new avenue for growth.
What started as a side hustle has emerged as a legit venture.
“At first my dad thought retail business was for the interim to get by, and now he and his partners see the potential. They’re going to invest more in retail,” Boo said.
The pivot is the latest adaptation for Tai Boo, who moved to Queens from Malaysia and worked tirelessly until he could afford inventory to begin selling his own products.
“He was the guy doing the odd jobs — wrapping wontons, working at food stands in Flushing,” Joe Boo said. “And then he saved enough and said why don’t I just buy 20 cases myself and try to sell it.”
That initiative paid off for the family. So too has the latest endeavor, and some local seniors are sharing in the growth.
Asian Veggies partnered with Welcome to Chinatown and the Chinese-American Planning Council to provide fresh produce for seniors. The program is called Greens for Good.
“Factors such as limited mobility, age, the pandemic, and the rise of xenophobia create fear and isolation among the elderly,” Boo wrote on the Asian Veggies website. “The Greens for Good initiative is important because it allows senior residents to stay home, cook meals, and not worry about food supply.”
