Companies must keep evolving in response to market demand. As society changes and speeds up, ease of use is becoming increasingly important. Yet, those in the hospitality industry still want to be distinctive, flavor and aesthetics-wise. "Large catering companies or restaurants have hundreds of patrons," begins Atilla Vandenbogaerde of Atilla Dagvers.
This Belgian company specializes in the higher-end hospitality segment. "But they can barely find staff, so they're jumping on ready-made products. All that's important to chefs is how their plates look. Flavor, service, and convenience are where we want to stand out."
Atilla is the family business' fourth generation. It can trace its origins to Atilla's great-grandmother, who started a greengrocer in the early 20th century. "Her son, my grandfather, then started supplying other stores. He sparked my passion for the sector by showing me how much love and labor goes into a product. My father decided to also focus on the hospitality industry with these deliveries," Atilla explains in a nutshell.
"When I joined the company, I decided to expand our hospitality segment share. We now supply over 280 customers in East and West Flanders with about ten staff. We deliberately grow gradually in the region, and limiting client turnover is our main goal. We want to ensure we retain buyers by offering consistent quality and service."
Wholesale and store
Besides being a wholesaler, the business still has a store for the general public. "We have four salespeople, which undoubtedly helped tremendously during the pandemic. That's where it all started, and during the pandemic, it saved us. The closure of the hospitality sector slashed our sales by 50%. The store, however, experienced its best sales in years. The increased consumption and push for home cooking benefitted it. Spreading risks is also why we're still betting on both," says Atilla.
Still, wholesale is Atilla Dagvers' fastest-growing share. Here, this young entrepreneur tries to distinguish himself by maintaining the personal touch. "Belgium has many big players that supply chains, as a hospitality supplier, our service can differentiate us. We have a direct WhatsApp line, so customers or chefs can contact us directly with problems or questions. We must respond quickly. We're trying to grow incrementally and can, thus, react quickly, geographically speaking."
Own soft fruit and specialties
The company, which supplies butcheries and bakeries, too, buys its products from Dutch, Belgian, and French growers and traders. "We're close to the French border, so we can buy quality in all three countries daily. That's our focus," says Vandenbogaerde. They specialize in niche products, but soft fruit is a flagship product, too.
"We search high and low for the best strawberries and raspberries, but, at present, that's a struggle. Portugal has almost nothing, and Spain has average quality. Morocco, too, remains difficult. That's why these items are currently quite expensive. Fortunately, we always have Belgian strawberries from our greenhouse, which we keep using during the winter. For now, that's mainly Elsanta, but in three weeks, we'll switch to Sonata, a genuinely delicious variety."
Convenience
Atilla also sees an ever-rising demand for convenience products. "That's something we realized we'd have to go along with. Nowadays, hospitality wholesalers must have their convenience products in order. We want to consistently deliver good quality, and chefs still prioritize flavor and nice-looking plates. But, these days, sliced and processed fruits and vegetables are a must," Atilla knows.
"It's hard to find staff. Then, say, pumpkin cubes that can immediately be processed into soups or a dish are perfect for chefs. That's also why we're considering moving to a larger site along the highway."
"There, we can install a processing area and packaging line. Then we can start processing the best products ourselves to keep growing from the service, flavor, and convenience pillars," Atilla continues.
Digitalization
Yet, this expansion brings challenges, too. "I think the biggest of these is digitization. The more clients you serve, the more orders you receive. So we must ensure that the company automates order processing. Webshop or mail orders that are automatically read into the system. They can then be picked up and delivered as quickly as possible. We're fully committed to that. It also shows one shouldn't get ahead of oneself because orders that cannot be processed come at quality's expense."
"Lastly, finding skilled personnel remains a constant concern. It's not a straightforward job. We don't deliver books but live products with a widely varying quality. Then you need competent workers who can pick up on that. That's vital. For example, we work with a trio who used to be growers. They guarantee the quality before it goes out the door. Extra hands still remain necessary, but unfortunately, finding them is no longer a given," Atilla concludes.
For more information:
Atilla Vandenbogaerde
Atilla Dagvers
2 René De Clercq Street
8540 Deerlijk, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0) 567 11 468
Email: info@atilla.be
Website: www.atilla.be