"New partnership with Bollo leaves us wanting more"

Starting this citrus season, Vollenhove-based fruit and vegetable wholesaler Joors has entered into a close partnership with Spanish fruit giant Bollo.

"In October, we started with the first mandarins. We're proud to have added such a premium brand to our assortment. Everyone knows Bollo—the brand stands for quality, with matching packaging and presentation," says Johannes Janssen enthusiastically.

"The Spanish season for Clementines and Clemenules was quite challenging, and it was difficult even for Bollo to deliver good volumes of premium quality. However, the season for Nadorcott and Tango mandarins went smoothly in terms of quality. That said, supply was limited, so prices remained firm," Johannes explains.

Continued with melons and stone fruit
Recently, he and his sister Ida visited Bollo's packing station for oranges and mandarins, as well as the melon packing facility. "That's also very interesting for us. Bollo is particularly strong with Piel de Sapo melons. In the Netherlands, Galia still leads the melon market without competition, but once you've had a Piel de Sapo, you won't want a Galia anymore. We therefore expect to continue the cooperation strongly with melons, and we also want to work with them on the stone fruit season," says Johannes.

"This partnership really suits us. Bollo may not be the cheapest brand, but it delivers consistently high-quality fruit, and we want to further establish that reputation in the Netherlands. It's great to see that we're expanding our customer base with buyers who truly value quality and are willing to pay a bit more for it. Bollo also uses a lot of cardboard packaging. We do as well—our fruit is packed in the 'Johannes line.'"

"As Joors, we've been on the rise in recent years. Last year, our turnover grew significantly, and we're already ahead of that this year. Our turnover comes from a wide range of customers, including (online) retail, food service companies, market vendors, and fellow traders. We're also seeing growth in our exports to the German market, especially with our Johannes fruit baskets."

Growing pains
When asked about the biggest challenges, Johannes replies, "Product availability is becoming more of a topic, but the biggest challenge for our company is a positive one—managing the growing pains of scaling up properly. We see a lot of opportunities. Our environmentally conscious 'cradle-to-cradle' Johannes packaging line also meets a clear demand."

"With it, we offer a highly varied and fully sustainable packaging range, including trays, baskets, and banderoles made from food-safe cardboard and organic paper. So, despite challenges in the market, many opportunities are also coming our way. We're well aware that everything must align, but if we continue on this path, we expect to have at least doubled our sales within five years."

For more information:
Johannes Janssen
JOORS
De Weijert 26
8325 EM Vollenhove
Tel: +31 (0)52 724 49 44
groothandel@joors.nl
www.joors.nl