Dutch company Q-cape from Dronten will supply its organic pumpkins grown in South Africa under the new ‘Cape Orange’ brand from now on. In this way, the company hopes to distinguish itself on the European market for organic products.
Last year, Q-cape introduced the first South African organic pumpkins on the European market. Buyers are primarily the retail fresh market, wholesalers, catering and gastronomy. “These are beautiful, full-grown pumpkins, and they are wonderfully sweet and therefore very flavourful due to the unique production climate,” says manager Leo Stoker about the popularity of the product. “We can offer stable quality over long periods, which isn’t possible with European production.”
Get a taste of the Organic Cape
Demand for this versatile product turned out to be surprisingly large, particularly in Germany. To remain recognisable and distinctive on the sales market, Q-cape developed its own brand name ‘Cape Orange’ for their organic pumpkins, referring to the product’s bright colour. The design of the logo and packaging is based on South African culture. The payoff ‘Get a taste of the Organic Cape’ is also used. “The step to our own brand with a recognisable image is necessary to position ourselves even more clearly among the other suppliers of pumpkins,” Stoker says.
Responsibly and fairly grown
Q-cape guides the South African growers locally in order to receive a responsible product. The pumpkins are all certified organic. Once delivered to the Netherlands, the company takes care of cleaning, sorting and packing. An advantage of supply from South Africa compared to supply from other parts of the world is that transport time with similar conditions is shorter. That fits Q-cape’s goal of producing organic crops that are as sustainable as possible.
For more information:
Q-Cape
W: www.qcape.nl