Snow pea specialist ElbeFruit has recently undergone a number of changes. Bertrand Sabadie, the company's new managing director, talks about the developments and plans of the young company that has now established itself as a "key player on the snow pea market in Europe and the UK."
Snow peas
Structural changes to strengthen its position on the snow pea market
ElbeFruit GmbH has made a number of changes including appointments, recruitments, a new office. Two co-directors are now at the head of the company. Bertrand Sabadie, former sales director, is now managing director in charge of purchasing, sales and logistics operations. Strategic direction is now in the hands of Edgard Gunter, the company's founder and (former) CEO. At the same time, ElbeFruit is conducting a recruitment drive to bolster its administrative and sales teams. "We are looking for a key account manager to develop sales on the European market," explains Bertrand Sabadie. In addition to these changes, we are opening a new office. "After Hamburg, ElbeFruit will also be present in Aachen, in order to be as close as possible to operations in the Netherlands and Belgium (which account for 95% of the company's logistics flows)."
Peru is the rising star
While Zimbabwe has long been a flagship origin for ElbeFruit, the drop in volumes since 2021 has forced the company to develop other origins such as Egypt and Guatemala. For the past two years, the company has decided to turn to Peru. "It is an origin with a good growth curve. In fact, we have set up an ambitious program of container arrivals for this origin, and we are already seeing results," explains Bertrand Sabadie. ElbeFruit is now "the 2nd largest importer of snow peas in continental Europe from this origin." Peru has a number of advantages. "The season lasts longer, from mid-June to mid-November, so there is much greater coverage by boat. In comparison, the supply period by boat from Zimbabwe is relatively short." The Peruvian campaign, which should normally end around mid-November, could well end a month later, as ElbeFruit is currently developing a new production zone with its partner in Peru. Another advantage is visibility. "Zimbabwean exporters now export more by air when prices are high and switch to shipments by boat when prices fall, so we never know exactly when the first containers will arrive, with a month delay sometimes." Many retailers now prefer to source their supplies by ship. "Most distributors, particularly in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, no longer want to be supplied by air."
Snow peas
What about the French market?
Until a few years ago, ElbeFruit was very present on the French market with the Zimbabwe origin. But due to supply difficulties, volumes destined for France have been drastically reduced. Additionally, the French market works mainly with trays (250g units), a format that is unfamiliar to Peru, and which hampers our ability to reach the French market, more used to sourcing Kenyan and Egyptian snow peas. We recently tried to ship pallets from Peru, but the results were not very encouraging. However, Bertrand is optimistic. "These trials were carried out at a time when the market was very calm, when the supply was strong but the demand had dropped. This situation is set to change, so it is possible that there will be renewed interest in this origin over the next few weeks.
The ElbeFruit team at Fruit Attraction 2023
ElbeFruit will be present in Madrid
ElbeFruit will be taking part in Fruit Attraction 2024. This is an opportunity for the company to present its recent changes to its clients and visitors. In Madrid, the company will be exhibiting at a much larger booth than last year. Above all, it will be exhibiting alongside partner Atlantic Fruit, based in Hamburg and created especially for exotic products (coconut, passion fruit, lime and avocado).
For more information:
Bertrand Sabadie
ElbeFruit
Phone: +32 455 10 29 27
[email protected]
http://elbefruit.eu/