Offering all fruit and vegetable products all year round? As a full-service specialist wholesaler, Dutch company Postuma AGF provides a total assortment, but director Sjoerd Postuma always insists on reminding customers to sell with the seasons. "Offering everything year-round is pure luxury; seasonal products are cheaper and often tastier, too," he says.
© https://agfstorage.blob.core.windows.net/misc/AGF_nl/2022/10/03/postuma110.jpg
Sjoerd (right) with his colleagues at the company's anniversary celebrations last year.
"People are complaining about everything getting more expensive, but you can save plenty on logistics by thinking logically. Our processing facility, for example, supplies many food service clients, but they must realize that, in winter, the spinach has to come from Spain, so it costs more. Everything has its price. You can buy a bag of cut endive, but it's far cheaper to buy a whole endive."
"Flying in fruit and vegetables is a hot topic at the moment. With the recent climate extremes, the availability of many products is under increasing pressure. There are, however, many alternatives available any time of year. The supermarket channel often lacks the power and knowledge to communicate that to customers. Fruit and vegetable specialists can, but they should do that more actively, I think," Sjoerd explains.
Postuma AGF's display at the Food Specialists Trade Show.
Spanish mandarins
"Lots of Spanish mandarins are currently coming onto the market. Those have a great story for stores to share. They're grown as close to home as possible, are freshly harvested, and have as little transport burden as possible. But that story needs to be told. It's always rather easily said that consumers want year-round produce, but you must educate them a bit."
"We have clients who want those products too, but we explain things well," Sjoerd continues. "New Zealand kiwis, for instance, have been extremely expensive in recent months due to weather conditions. Now that the European season has started, those prices are normalizing, and we're specifically promoting them more again."
The director of this 110-year-old wholesaler recently felt like no one is paying heed in a market that is increasingly moving toward year-round availability. Lately, though, he sees more understanding of his point of view. "The environment is an issue for the future. Our sector is part of that, and if we want to take responsibility for it, we have to act on that," Sjoerd concludes.
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or more information:
Postuma AGF
2 Manenbergring
8271 RX, IJsselmuiden, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 383 370 099
Email: sjoerd.postuma@postuma.nl
Website: www.postuma.nl