For several years, East4Fresh has been selling Thai coconuts. Last year, Rick Rebergen and Helien Verhagen also introduced the Goco Nutty brand from Portugal : white, unroasted coconuts together with the Easy-to-Open system as a Ready-to-Drink concept.
This year, the import of the young coconuts is facing challenges. "The whole year, we have been dealing with the Red Sea perils, which means that the ships from Asia have to deal with a significantly longer transit time," Helien explains. "In addition, we now see that with the import tax announced from 1 January 2025, the United States is pulling many containers away from Asia. This results in a container shortage, which has made prices go over the top as much as three to four times."
"Thailand itself has been experiencing tremendously hot weather, which has affected the harvest. All in all, there are very few young coconuts in circulation. We therefore expect stocks in the Netherlands to drop sharply from this month and the price to rise further. Fortunately, thanks to our fixed lines, we can continue to offer coconuts even in these difficult times, keeping stock in both Portugal and the Netherlands," Helien says.
"Because of the good quality, we remain loyal to our Thai suppliers. Not for nothing have we not had a single complaint about the quality this year. That quality is not guaranteed from all countries. We are, however, exploring the possibilities of expanding our sourcing to countries like Brazil and Vietnam next year, to continue to guarantee our availability."
On the demand side, the Dutch do not see any problems in Portugal. "Despite the chilly weather in Northern Europe, demand for young coconuts is surprisingly good. Demand also remains at a high level in Southern Europe. In the Netherlands and Germany we sell directly to retailers and wholesalers, but here in Portugal we have set up a finely-meshed network through which we supply coconuts directly to end sellers such as beach bars, bars and festivals. We do this all along the coast from the Algarve to Braga. Sales in Portugal are a nice spin-off to further roll out this concept in Europe."
Goco Nutty is also in high demand within Dutch and German retail. "Unprocessed coconut water has the wind in its sails. The minerals provide a good moisture balance, which makes it an ideal product for after exercise. Although the coconut season is coming to an end so towards the end of September, you see retailers capitalising on the health benefits wanting to feed coconuts year-round. We offer them plenty of promotional material and marketing via social media to support sales."
For more information:
Rick Rebergen / Helien Verhagen
East4Fresh
Mob: +31 643 92 99 00 / +31 (0) 683244661
[email protected] / [email protected]
www.east4fresh.nl
www.goco nutty.com