Philadelphia, PA – In August of 1980 when Mike Barber sat down with JM Procacci to interview for a banana sales manager position with Procacci Brothers Sales Corporation, “Caddyshack” was the #1 movie in America, the cost of bananas was $0.36 per pound and the terms “organic”, “specialty”, and “ethnic” produce had not yet been incorporated into the vocabularies of produce buyers. 35 years later, JM Procacci, Procacci Brothers’ director of operations when Mike was hired, still remembers being floored by Barber’s extensive knowledge of banana procurement, “That’s the most I’ve ever learned in a job interview,” reflected Procacci. “Mike Barber had something that all of the other candidates lacked – experience.”
Despite being only 30 years old when he joined Procacci Brothers, Mike Barber had already put together an impressive resume. In 1971 a teaching opportunity with the Peace Corps brought Mike to Venezuela. He quickly immersed himself in the Venezuelan culture and the teaching profession. Over the next six years Mike’s students came to include public and private school students, undergrad and graduate students, doctors, lawyers, engineers and business owners. It was in Venezuela that Mike met his life companion, Rosa, and added his two most treasured titles, “husband” and “father”.
Mike’s journey in the produce industry began in 1978 when he partnered with a long-time friend to operate a produce company in Dominica, West Indies. In his new role Mike was tasked with using his Spanish language skills to gain access to underutilized growers in the Dominican Republic. Mike secured the proper licenses and permits and the company began making regular shipments of mixed produce to their customer bases in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and St. Maarten. Over the next two years Mike dedicated himself to learning the ins and outs of the produce industry. Then in 1980 he and his young family moved to Philadelphia, PA. Mike was hired by Procacci Brothers shortly thereafter and immediately began making substantial contributions towards growing Procacci’s banana business, often spending late nights setting up promotional displays with Joe Procacci Sr. at various store locations in the Philadelphia area.
During his time with Procacci Brothers, Mike made innumerable contributions that brought value to the company and to the produce industry in general. In addition to overseeing exponential growth in Procacci’s banana business, Mike’s contributions during his 35 years with the company include but are not limited to: introducing fresh herbs, miniature vegetables and edible flowers to the Philadelphia market; establishing Procacci Brothers’ Organic Produce Program, which made a wide variety of organic produce available to countless produce shoppers in the Northeast for the first time; expanding Procacci’s tropical produce offerings to include a wide variety of West Indian and Caribbean roots and fruits; creating the company’s first Chinese and Middle Eastern vegetable program; and developing contracts with exporters in Mexico to initiate direct shipments for a wide variety of Mexican produce, long before importing tropical produce from Mexico was commonplace in the US produce industry.
Mike’s accomplishments were only possible because he took the initiative to go out and search the world for great produce. On his many journeys as an agent for Procacci Brothers, Mike explored the world and made friends along the way. Mike went to places such as Guatemala to evaluate mango production and quality; to Costa Rica in search of banana farms and other independent growers; to the plantain and banana farms of Ecuador; and to nearly every sourcing region in Mexico – from the Cactus Leaf fields in Puebla, to the avocado and mango farms in Michoacán, to the famous Central de Abasto in Mexico City. In 1996 (pictured), Mike even found himself in West Africa, exploring the possibility of sourcing pineapples from another potentially overlooked region of the world.
Mike’s plans for retirement include working together with his wife Rosa to care for their large collection of tropical plants, visiting the many friends that he and Rosa have made over the years, spending time with his family and “playing with my grandchildren every day.”
“Procacci Brothers, and I personally, would like to express our deepest gratitude to Mike Barber for 35+ years of dedicated service to Procacci Brothers,” said company president, Mike Maxwell. “We wish Mike and his family many, many years of health and happiness in his retirement.”
Source: Procacci Brothers Sales Corporation