Long Island produce wholesaler enjoys the fruits of AI

While some workplaces dread artificial intelligence because employees fear it might replace them, a local produce wholesaler says he and his workers are happily reaping the fruits of the technology.

Krystal Produce — a Syosset-based family business with customers including Gallaghers  Steakhouse in Manhattan and Long Island’s Valley Caterers, Cherry Valley Club, The Fox Hollow and Lawrence Beach Club  — is the first U.S. company  to use Choco AI.  The program, created by the German company Choco, puts Krystal’s previously time-consuming and tedious order-processing system on autopilot.

Choco AI was launched in November, and Krystal started using it at the end of last year.

According to Krystal owner and CEO Mike Longo, Choco AI is doing work that used to take five people by eliminating the hours-long order-entry procedure. It can capture voicemail, email and fax orders around the clock and translate them into a digital format. It then inputs them into the back-end software that food wholesalers use to manage their inventory and process customer orders.

“Before Choco AI, when a new order came in, I had to enter each item manually into our system,” Stina Bartlett, a Krystal customer service specialist, said. “Most of the orders contain dozens of items, so this was not only time-consuming, but it was repetitive. Now all I need to do is perform a quick check to ensure that the orders generated by Choco match” the customer’s original order. She added, “What used to take me two to three hours per day now takes a matter of minutes.”

Choco AI can also understand a variety of different accents and speaking styles. It’s even able to recognize repeated orders so that when a regular customer calls in and says, “Give me the usual,” Choco AI does that.

Besides, Longo said, it does a “boring” job no one wanted to do. Plus, it answers the problem many businesses have today of staffing shortages.

“Choco AI is designed to automate and streamline the process of ordering food between restaurants and food distributors like Krystal Produce,”  said Georgie Thomas, managing director and head of Choco's U.S. operations. The company, founded in 2018 by entrepreneurs Daniel Khachab and Julian Hammer, has offices around the world, including in France, Spain, the U.K., Austria and Belgium.

“On average, businesses that use Choco AI can process 100 times more orders without hiring additional staff,” Thomas said.

Longo, a 47-year-old Lloyd Harbor resident, added that AI has proven to be such a good thing for Krystal that he’s excited to see how the company might be able to use it next.  His answers in a Newsday interview have been edited for space and clarity:

How did you get started in the wholesale produce business?

I started working in the Long Island warehouse of Westbury Produce as a teenager in the early 1990s. I really enjoyed the team atmosphere of the warehouse and continued to work there, eventually working my way up to partner in 1999. In 2004, I merged Arrow Produce and Krystal Fruits & Vegetables Inc. to form what is now simply Krystal Produce.

Was Krystal always in its current location?

Krystal was previously located in Westbury and moved to its current, largest location for storing, processing shipping orders in January of 2022.

Besides Long Island and Manhattan, where are your wholesale customers located?

Northeastern New Jersey, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Philadelphia, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

What types of customers are you a wholesaler for, besides restaurants, caterers, hotels and clubs?

Schools, hospitals, nursing homes and delis.

Where does your produce come from?

In the summer months, our produce comes from farms on Long Island like Schmitt Farms, Koppert Cress, Cutchogue and Wells Farm. Year-round we get it from farms in Salinas, California, and Arizona.

What are the difficulties in your business?

There are lots of weather-related issues. Every time it rains it slows down the growing process; however, it can also be the opposite if there’s too much sun. A lot of timing and pricing is affected by weather. Also, with fuel prices being so high right now, transportation also has a big impact on costs.

What’s your biggest challenge right now, and how are you meeting it?

Inflation is still a big issue for us. The cost of going out to eat is really high right now, which means less people going out to eat and even smaller margins for restaurants. All of this in turn impacts the entire industry.

What would you tell someone who wants to become a produce wholesaler?

We are open 24 hours seven days a week, and the most grueling part is the nights that continue long into the days. Additionally, it is definitely not your typical business as prices change every single day. And being a fresh commodity adds a lot of complexity.

What would you like your business to look like in five years?

Our goal is to triple in size. We have a building with room to grow and we plan to utilize that space with a broader product portfolio.