“Herbs are used sparingly in culinary delights”

Marcel Janssen, De Gerdeneer “Herbs are used sparingly in culinary delights”

The gourmet segment loves herbs but in small volumes. In dishes put together using at least 25 steps, herbs are used sparingly, says Marcel Janssen of De Gerdeneer. He specialized in short-chain sales to the high-end catering industry but is slowly phasing that out. This is the third time Marcel is radically changing this Dutch company’s business model.

Between 1998 and 2013, Marcel grew lamb’s lettuce and produced vegetable seeds on more than three hectares. When the vegetable seed production market degenerated into a price war, he switched to herb cultivation, targeting the higherend restaurant segment. They want the best quality and flavour. “I grow almost all my herbs from seed in the open ground. It takes longer but produces the best flavour,” he begins. It took a lot of trial and error to decide which varieties to grow. Marcel would invite chefs to his greenhouse and, thus, kept improving his feel for the market. “At the peak, I had 80 species of herbs and edible flowers. Almost all of which I sold too.”

Also important: being able to deliver fresh, every day. De Gerdeneer harvests its herbs to order and supplies restaurants directly via short lines. The company is located at Greenport Venlo, so it is a convenient base of operations. “What I harvest is consumed within 24 hours,” says Marcel. For him and the team, that means shuffling through the greenhouse on their knees, harvesting herbs every day, and constantly switching gears. What still seems manageable at 08:00 can look very different an hour later. “Sometimes, it changes by the minute. Don’t ask me how, but we always manage it in the end.”

De Gerdeneer’s herbs and edible flowers find their way to the most upmarket restaurants in Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and parts of the Netherlands. These establishments make very high demands on the product. Flavour is most important, but there can also not be a single insect or blemish on the product. Those requirements are not the only thing that makes it a challenging market. Marcel: “The very high-level chefs are easy customers; they just don’t take much. The more well-known they are, the more they appreciate your products, but the less they use per dish. It’s truly delicate work, a leaf here, a flower there…”

Polyculture

Greenhouse polyculture involves a farming system that combines cultivating different fruits and vegetables with high-protein products like mushrooms, eggs, chicken, and fish. The waste from one product is the raw material for the other. This closed-loop system and limited input needs make this type of farm sustainable and efficient. The extensive diversity in the product range allows growers to offer consumers a complete vegetable, fruit, and protein-rich product assortment. By closing cycles, maximizing yields, and reducing inputs, you could potentially achieve high returns. The focal point is to let nature do the work in efficiently-designed systems.

Source: Stichting Innovatieve Glastuinbouw

Tasty herbs and edible flowers from the field

Yet even in this market, as with lamb’s lettuce at the time, Marcel feels an increase in competitive pressure. De Gerdeneer was one of the first to market edible flowers; now, many parties offer them. You can sometimes even find them in supermarkets. “Herbs are becoming a bulk item with overseas companies also aggressively closing in on the market.”

The pandemic brought the herb market to an almost complete standstill. Fortunately, De Gerdeneer had a lifeline: cider. “We love cider, so we began brewing it in 2015. We focused on this during the pandemic, and it’s grown substantially. Cider isn’t a well-known product in the Netherlands, but that’s starting to change. We deliver directly to the public, liquor stores, and the hospitality industry via our webshop. It’s starting to become something big,” admits Janssen. De Gerdeneer wants to distinguish itself in quality and flavour in the cider market too. “Over the past seven years, we’ve tested, learned about, tasted, and retested different apple varieties.”

“We’ve tried different ways of bottling, different yeasts, etc., and have gathered knowledge and information from all over the world. We can now make some delicious ciders. Initially, we used Class II apples for this. However, we discovered that the old, smaller varieties from the traditional, standard orchards like Gronsvelder Klumpe and the Ananas Reinette apples produce totally different flavours of ciders,” Marcel explains. “The icing on the cake was that we found that even the type of soil can change the flavour. Just like grapes, you can taste the land in ciders. The same apples from trees that are equally old but grow in different soils each produce their own flavour, depending on the soil type.”

During the pandemic, De Gerdeneer decided that its future lies locally. They want to capitalize on sustainability trends and consumers’ increased interest in their foods’ origin. De Gerderneer is near a cycling and walking route in a tourist area; thus, they can reach plenty of people. “Over the last two years, we came up with many new ideas and made plans. We’re going to convert the greenhouse complex into a polyculture, a kind of food forest under glass. We’re also planting an apple orchard with different old apple varieties for our cider. And we’re building a store to sell our products. We want to have completed the switch within about five years,” Marcel concludes. (ML)

info@degerdeneer.nl

Ilse Hayen, EFC’s CEO: “We certainly don’t want any Class II Nicoters lying next to Kanzi in stores”

After bananas and citrus, top fruit is the third-most eaten type of fruit in the world. That is what the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) proudly reports on its website. And in recent years, club varieties have been on the rise. With their attractive appearance and guaranteed quality, these are winning over more and more people. A club markets these patented varieties and licensed growers cultivate and sell them. This prevents the market from becoming oversupplied. Not even the entire harvest may be sold under the brand name; only the very best fruit is deemed suitable for that..

Kanzi is a good example. The apple variety is actually called Nicoter. Kanzi is managed by the European Fruit Cooperation (EFC), a Belgian variety management company. It was founded in 2002 when three grower organizations joined forces to market new varieties together. They were Fruitmasters (the Netherlands), Veiling Haspengouw (Belgium), and the German Württembergische Obstgenossenschaft (WOG).

EFC, A THREE-MEMBER CLUB

Ilse Hayen, EFC’s CEO, says the partnership is holding up nicely. The almost 20 year old shareholders’ structure has remained unchanged, although BelOrta took Veiling Haspengouw’s place. That was when that cooperative went belly up a few years ago. “BelOrta was a logical choice. Many of Veiling Haspengouw’s growers, especially those who had planted Kanzi and Greenstar, joined BelOrta. Greenstar is EFC’s second apple club variety. As a company, BelOrta’s vision has always matched ours, and still does,” Ilse begins.

“The shareholder’s transnational structure is unsurprising given their history. When it was formed, European subsidy policy favoured such collaboration over national partnerships. Growers had to evenly match every half euro of support from Europe with national collaborations. If you looked across borders to join forces, Europe provided 60 cents and growers only had to cough up 40.”

Kanzi is a bicolored, tart apple with a juicy, crisp bite. And it has become a fixture on store shelves. It is the second-largest apple club variety, second only to Pink Lady, a much older concept. “Retailers love Kanzi, like Pink Lady. That’s no mean feat because supermarkets can be quite reluctant when it comes to club varieties,” says Ilse, who worked at a retailer for ten years before joining EFC. “But shoppers request them, and that’s something supermarkets can’t ignore. Yet, nowadays, this product of many years of breeding, patience, trials, and tweaks is taken for granted. In the early years, there were a few issues, especially at the cultivation level. Kanzi,

or more correctly Nicoter, is cancer-sensitive.“

Back then, no adequate solution had yet been found for this. So the rapid upscaling of cultivation with young trees was a little problematic. That was because these had been grown with certified material that wasn’t yet virus-free. Also, growers were used to Elstar and Jonagold, which are barely cancer-sensitive, if at all. However, we soon found a solution - the Golden intermediate strain. This method proved effective. And today, Nicoter trees are still delivered with this intermediate stem. This connecting piece between the rootstock and the Nicoter wood makes each piece of plant material half a euro pricier. Nonetheless, the long-term benefits - fighting off fruit tree cancer - far outweigh paying that initial extra cost.”

BETTER3FRUIT

EFC does not breed varieties itself; it leaves that to a large breeding program network. This includes universities across the globe. Nicoter, for example, is a Better3fruit product. This is a University of Leuven spinoff. It began a continuation of this Belgian university’s breeding program. Tree breeder Johan Nicolaï was also involved. GKE is an EFC subsidiary that used to be a joint EFC/Johan Nicolaï venture. EFC recently remerged with GKE, for good reason. “As a variety management company, our mission is to create added value for all parties in the fruit supply chain,” explains Ilse.

“We achieve this by continuously searching for and developing exceptional, unique varieties. And by building highly successful global brands. Growers can acquire a license to grow these. EFC used to focus on the first part of the chain. We optimized tree management and perfected cultivation. GKE managed the brands. In practice, EFC and GKE have always operated as a single team. This merger allows us to join forces in the areas of cultivation and marketing. We can now access and develop viable, successful varieties.”

GLOBAL BREEDING PROGRAMS

The top-selling Kanzi may be the fruit of Better3fruit’s research. However, when developing new varieties, EFC is not bound to this specific breeder. “Over the years, we’ve built a global network of breeding programs. We visit those annually, except, of course, during the pandemic. We’re not tied to Better3fruit, even though we’re one of their shareholders. When choosing a particular variety, EFC has to wait in line at Better3fruit just like any other party. We don’t have a right of first refusal,” says Hayen.

EFC also has good links with other breeding programs, such as Wageningen University in the Netherlands. But also in the US, including research institutes in Minnesota and Washington, as well as in New Zealand. Thanks to long-term relationships with EFC, those breeders have a clear picture of the variety management company’s criteria. If a potentially suitable variety emerges, EFC jumps on board, and the effective testing phase begins. And that work takes a considerable time.

“We’re currently testing some 17 redskinned pear varieties. It takes four to five years before a young tree becomes productive. And before you can plant your chosen variety’s trees, you have to do trial runs. In the case of pears, this takes another two to three years. So the whole process takes between six and eight years. There’s a problem with the red-skinned pears currently on the market. They don’t remain nicely blushed and often tend to turn brown. Also, most have no blush at all. We cannot market those as a club concept. Or, technically put, the variety has a rather low packout value. Those are factors you certainly need to consider when deciding if you want to convert test licenses into commercial ones.”

GROWERS KEEP AN EYE ON PACKOUT

Packout is a fairly important aspect of concept varieties. As much when choosing a new one as with growers. Obviously, a potential new club variety with a high packout has an edge. Though, of course, the required percentage also depends on the price at which the premium product can be marketed. “Say that price is very high, and the packout is a little lower. Then that product can still be profitable. Naturally, the higher the packout, the better for the grower. But that’s where growers differ considerably. That’s something our license partners provide in graphs at a growers’ meetings. Then the past sales season is evaluated. This is done anonymously, of course. But it gives growers a good picture of how they and others are performing. The less good growers then know that they’ll have to work a little harder. But also that it pays off. Because quality brings in money,” Ilse continues.

THE BABY BROTHER

EFC has Kanzi and Greenstar apples and a pear club race - Migo - in its assortment. The ratio at the variety management company also reflects the broader reality. There are many more club varieties in apples than pears. And Ilse expects this to remain so. “There are, of course, fortunately, some pear club concepts like Migo, Xenia, and Sweet Sensation. But it is indeed much more limited. I think it will stay that way. Globally, pear cultivation is more limited than that of apples, anyway.”

“And though pear consumption is generally declining, Migo is holding up nicely. Also, there are fewer good pear cultivation regions. I see room for red-skinned pears as a club variety; that’s what the trade wants. And should the common variety in our region, Conference, come under more pressure, that will certainly be an incentive to develop even more pear club concepts. In any case, apples will always stay ahead of pears in that area, in my opinion.”

BREEDING FOR THE ORGANIC SECTOR

For instance, when it comes to organic farming, Migo already has several advantages over Conference. Migo pears are less prone to roughening. Organic is becoming increasingly important in the modern context. And EFC, too, when looking for new varieties, is setting its sights on crops that can be grown sustainably. “When we find varieties in the breeding programs that are resistant to certain diseases, it’s a huge plus. That’s because we have to farm more and more sustainably. And if the variety is naturally resistant to some disease, you don’t have to resort to plant protection products. Then the road to organic is open,” says Ilse.

WILD GROWN

For retailers, too, it is important to offer sustainably cultivated fruit. Then they can meet all their shoppers’ wishes. Besides organic, this could mean low or zero residue products and certainly locally grown fruit. But the demands of retail go further, of course. Aside from flavour char-

acteristics - sweet, tart, and sweet-sour, syrupy-sweet - colour, too, plays a vital role. Kanzi is a bicolored apple, Greenstar - you guessed it - is green, or rather, bright green. Its flesh is white. Migo, too, is green. Retailers like to have an apple or a pear of each colour - red, yellow, and green - on their shelves.

“It’s then challenging, particularly with pears, to convince retailers to add a second green item to their assortment. There is, after all, limited shelf space. Retailers calculate their return per square meter. If that suddenly drops, fruits like bananas, citrus, or berries take the extra top fruit’s place.” It sometimes seems stores do not display a variety but a product characteristic as a distinguishing feature. That happened with potatoes. With these, it is the cooking type; with top fruit, it could be the colour or flavour. This is especially possible if there were to be a proliferation in the supply of free and club varieties.

“But we aren’t there yet. For now, Kanzi is holding its own excellently in the supermarkets. I’m also considering the upcoming oversupply of club varieties with interest. But the ultimate question is which ones are going to remain? And which ones are going to fall by the wayside?” the CEO asks. Red-fleshed apples are an example of a new trend. “We certainly follow developments closely. And if new varieties come along, we keep an eye on them. But currently there are no red-fleshed apples that seem interesting enough to us to get into. That’s not to say our shareholders can’t get involved individually if they want to. Still, I think red-fleshed apples will more than likely remain a niche.”

EAST EUROPE IS KNOCKING

Many Class II fruits often appear in the retail sector and not at dumping prices right away. Consumers seem to be embracing non-perfect fruit again. Yet this is not an option for EFC because top quality is and remains a sine qua non. “We’re certainly not going to have Class II Nicoters next to Kanzi in the store,” says Ilse firmly. Still, that may be where danger lurks for the club varieties. Especially now that the Eastern European countries and Turkey are expanding the top fruit acreage.

They are also getting a better grasp of cultivation methods and are thus starting to bring valuable fruit to market. Also, those countries have the advantage of cheaper production. Not as many club varieties are currently grown in those countries. But the other varieties are entering the Western European market in increasing numbers. “Those countries are making huge leaps in their fruit’s quality. They also have better storage facilities. But I think the main competition from those countries is still for the commodities and less for the club concepts.”

TASTINGS

To keep on top of trends, EFC keeps in direct contact with retailers. They also want to know exactly what consumers and, thus, retailers want. And, of course, they want to agree on programs. “We work with brand promoters. They introduce our products to retailers. They make the annual program deals and define campaigns. For example, we arrange tastings in Germany with REWE or EDEKA. We, for instance, have a Migo food truck that we park at various retailers. That produces good results. Once the full program has been discussed with stores, our license partners, like Fruitmasters or BelOrta, contact the supermarket. They organize the actual sales.”

YEAR-ROUND SUPPLY OF LOCAL AND OVERSEAS PRODUCTS

EFC offers its products year-round. In the fall, winter, and spring, the fruit comes from European orchards. In the summer, the apples and pears are sourced from partners overseas. They could, theoretically, work year-round with the European harvest. The fruit’s quality is so good that storage could be stretched even longer. “Last season, there were about 50,000 tons of Kanzi apples in Europe,” says Ilse. “We used that to supply the market until the end of May. After that, we imported between 10,000 and 15,000 tons from the southern hemisphere. So, the main focus is local, European production. We’d very much like to grow the Kanzi volume. Last season we definitely had too little product to serve the market properly. There are undoubtedly still many opportunities for us in the market.”

Kanzi, Greenstar and Migo. Will they have company in the next decade? “In my world, ten years is tomorrow. Consider pears, for example. If you want to start something new, it takes between five and seven years before you see the first fruit. Looking at our club varieties in the next decade, I think five is a nice number. But EFC might expand the playing field and not limit ourselves to apples and pears. We follow the developments in soft fruit, too,” Ilse concludes. That has certainly piqued our curiosity.

ilse.hayen@efcfruit.com

CBI supported businesses find the right connections at Fruit Logistica

This year, CBI presented carefully selected quality suppliers from Guatemala, Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica and Jordan. The location: Fruit Logistica in Berlin, Germany, from 5-7 April 2022. Fruit Logistica is the world’s largest fresh produce trade fair. CBIcoached companies from the recently finished Agrofood Moldova project were also at the trade fair. All the companies successfully showcased their products. Estuardo Cobo, Manager at Amadeo Export from Guatemala, commented, “The fair was a great way to meet new clients and reconnect with others that I had not seen due to the pandemic.”

Central American success This year, CBI presented 4 companies from the CBI Connecting Central America project. These were Panafruit offering papaya from Panama, Amadeo Export with mangoes from Guatemala, Agrícola Antar with okra from Honduras, and Tropifoods, offering cassava, sweet potato and more, from Costa Rica. All 4 companies had a great time at Fruit Logistica and got lots of quality leads. Hormoz Safi And Maryan Safi, the father and daughter behind Panafruit, even made plans to go into business with a company they met in Berlin just a week after the trade fair.

Estuardo Cobo, Manager at Amadeo Export, was very happy with what he had achieved during the 3-day trade fair. He met all the goals he had set. “The best thing about this year’s Fruit Logistica has been meeting new companies and reconnecting with clients that I have not seen due to the pandemic. I also found clients that want to start doing business and 2 possible partners that I want to invest in.” Estuardo also said that during this edition of Fruit Logistica, he explored possible new markets to export to. When it comes to finding the right clients, Estuardo was very grateful for CBI’s help. “It can be very difficult sometimes to figure out which companies are the right ones to do business with; the CBI experts really help with that. That type of knowledge about the market is something money cannot buy.” Business export coaching expert Piet Schotel also sees the value for importers in choosing CBI-supported companies, “CBI prepares companies for the EU market. Importers who choose to work with these companies know beforehand that they are reliable and professional.”

The King of Dates Jordan has a competitive advantage as a supplier of fresh fruit and vegetables. This is due to the extended production season in the Jordan Valley, and because of how close it is to Europe. The country is known for its high-quality strawberries and capsicum. But Jordan has another gem to offer, the premium Medjool date, also called the King of Dates. The Jordan Exporters and Producers Association (JEPA) stand stood out yet again during this edition of Fruit Logistica. This year, it showcased 7 CBI-supported companies offering delicious Medjool dates. Many potential clients and buyers stopped by to sample the exceptional quality and meet with the companies.

Tamer Abu Jodom from Five Dates commented, “being back at a trade fair has been amazing. I have met many people who want to import to the European market, and I have gained good leads.”

He adds, “Fruit Logistica is not just about selling your product or finding new leads. It is about networking with similar companies and competitors to see whether there are opportunities to work together.” Knowing what makes your company different is very important when attending a trade fair. Tamer says that through the CBI Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Jordan project, he learned how to differentiate his company and compete in the market.

Ready to take business to the next level Moldova is a fertile country with a long tradition of fruit production. Using modern technologies, fruits grown and exported from this country include apples, grapes, cherries, apricots, plums and other stone fruits. During the past 5 years, CBI has been working in Moldova with local Fruit Producers and Exporters Association Moldova Fruct. In the 2018-2021 CBI Agrofood Moldova project, 18 fresh fruit producers, fruit processors and honey producers were coached to meet EU market requirements, improve production practices and enter the EU market. At this year’s Fruit Logistica, some of the companies CBI coached attended with Moldova Fruct.

Valeria Caduc, Manager at SMARTA, took part in the CBI project. Her company offers a variety of apples. She expresses how helpful the project was for her business, “CBI helped us take our business to the next level with market research and an export plan.” Valerie went to fairs with her business before she joined the CBI project and got a few customers. But she really saw a difference when she went to fairs after taking CBI’s advice. “We did market research and understood where our product fits in the market. This really helped us get more prospects and customers.” This year, she attended the fair without CBI, “but I had the knowledge I gained from the project. I met some potential buyers and spoke to contacts I already had. CBI gave us the confidence to take our business to the next level.” Iurie Fala, Executive Director of Moldova Fruct, looks back at a successful collaboration with CBI. “CBI helped the companies in the project professionalise their businesses, enter new markets and be prepared for challenges. This year, there are companies at Fruit Logistica that CBI supported. You can see they are very professional.”

Import opportunities

Connecting Central America Would you like to know more about these companies and possible import opportunities? Contact the Connecting Central America project companies by sending an email to cca@cbi.eu.

Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Jordan To contact the Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Jordan project companies, send an email to agriculture@cbi.eu.

Agrofood Moldova To find out more about the Agrofood Moldova companies, visit www.moldovafruct.md/en or send an email to agriculture@cbi. eu.