The Oppenheimer Group this year celebrates its 150th anniversary or 54,750 days in business – a milestone which the company claims is tribute to its people, partnerships, customers, and strong ties to the fresh produce industry.
“This really is a year of celebration,” said John Anderson, chairman, president and CEO of the Oppenheimer Group, which is acknowledged by the Vancouver Historical Society as British Columbia’s oldest currently-operating business.
“We’ve had quite a journey from 1858 — the same year that British Columbia became a crown colony,” he added. “We have grown from a small provisions store on Vancouver Island to an international distributor of fresh produce grown around the world that now serves a broad spectrum of retail, wholesale, and foodservice customers across North America.”
According to Mr Anderson, it all began when four Oppenheimer brothers — Godfrey, Charles, David and Isaac — heard news of gold being discovered in the rugged interior of British Columbia.
“Charles headed to Victoria, where he opened a provisions store to outfit the prospectors on their way to the Fraser River gold fields,” he explained. “Within a year, the other brothers joined Charles and opened a second store in Yale, and two years later, they followed gold to the Cariboo and opened a third location in Barkerville.”
In 1881, the brothers headed back to Victoria, where they opened a large store on Wharf Street, and started looking for a place to build a permanent home office. There they focused in on the Granville area of Vancouver, and built a permanent warehouse that was the city’s first brick building when it opened in 1887.
Through its partnerships with growers around the world, some lasting more than a century, the Oppenheimer Group has successfully introduced Canadians to many fruit favorites, including Japanese mandarin oranges, Granny Smith and Enza Jazz apples, Zespri Green and Gold kiwifruit, and Amorosa tomatoes.
Today, the company sources over 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables from more than 25 countries. The full-service marketer has offices throughout North and South America and relationships with growers around the world, delivering a consistent year-round supply of apples, pears, kiwifruit, table grapes, pineapple, citrus, mangoes, berries, stone fruit and greenhouse-grown vegetables.
