On 1 January 2024, the takeover of the long-established Frankfurt company Augustin was officially confirmed. "My business partner and I already have a lot of experience in the fruit and vegetable wholesale business," says Özer Yilmaz, one of the two new managing directors, who has been working at the local Frischezentrum for around 18 years. "The opportunity arose to take over the Augustin company. It was very important not only to the retiring managers, who built up the business with a great deal of passion, but also to us, to retain the Augustin name, the existing customers and product variety, as well as the accustomed service."
Emil Augustin Gemüsegroßhandel GmbH & Co. KG has been dedicated to the procurement and marketing of a wide range of vegetable products, including cabbage, root vegetables, salads and fruit vegetables, for around 50 years (20 of which have been in the current Frischezentrum). Carrots of all kinds continue to be a sure-fire success, says Yilmaz. "We offered the last German carrots in calendar week 49, and now we are seamlessly continuing with Spanish produce. For gourmet carrots, we mainly offer Belgian and Dutch produce, with a little domestic produce on top. However, stored carrots and leeks are still available from German growers."
Özer Yilmaz (right) and an employee during a visit to the wholesale market by FreshPlaza.de in the summer of 2024. The two managing directors Özer Yilmaz and Kazim Köroglu are flanked by office manager Vanessa Miehrig in management.
Strong price fluctuations characterise salad market
Another highlight in the Augustin portfolio is colourful lettuces, which are currently only available from southern Europe. Yilmaz: "Italian lettuces are a little cheaper than French produce, around 1-2 euros per 9-parcel, but not as voluminous. This has led us to focus our procurement on France. We have also noticed that the prices of French lettuces have fallen by up to €1.00-1.50/parcel since mid-November and, based on our experiences from last year's season, we expect prices to fall further in the coming weeks. However, it must be said that prices across the range are very high and fluctuating, which, as far as I know, has never happened before in this form."
Colourful salads of French origin
Spain is also traditionally an important procurement country during the cold season, especially in the fruit vegetable category, continues Yilmaz. "We were afraid that there would be delivery problems in large parts of Spain due to the storm DANA and the flood disaster. Fortunately, apart from price increases for spinach and herbs, we have been spared from major problems on the procurement side."
Insight into the Augustin company's vegetable assortment: the company serves a broad clientele, consisting of specialist retailers, delicatessens and weekly market suppliers.
Rising demand for lamb's lettuce
Lamb's lettuce, which is grown exclusively in local fields, is still an absolute hit in the run-up to Christmas. "Demand has been rising noticeably for several weeks and usually peaks just before Christmas. During the transition period before the actual takeover, i.e. in December last year, around 30 pallets of lamb's lettuce – whether firm, soft, coarse or somewhat finer – were lined up here one day, which were sold within a very short time. We have the advantage that lamb's lettuce has always been a strong product for Augustin, and it is mainly sourced from long-standing, regional producer partners, so we can meet the high demand accordingly."
Regional lamb's lettuce is an absolute hit at the moment.
Almost a year after the takeover, the new management can look back on a successful debut year at the helm of the company. The decision to maintain the existing company structure was obviously the right one, Yilmaz concludes. "All in all, we have had a strong year that exceeded our expectations. We were able to consolidate the existing customer base for the most part and even gain one or two new customers. This is also our main goal for the coming years: to offer the strong service and product quality that the company has stood for for many years."
Photo credit: Emil Augustin Gemüsegroßhandel GmbH & Co. KG
For more information:
Özer Yilmaz
Emil Augustin Gemüsegroßhandel GmbH & Co. KG
Frischezentrum Frankfurt
Tel: +49 177 92 486 23
[email protected]
http://www.augustin-gemuesehandel.de