“The Moroccan market, on the other hand, offers many new opportunities and varieties. As a new company, we would like to be associated with those new varieties; we are very focused on Morocco. Producers ask us if we can market their product correctly and at a fair price. That is where our work sits and, so far, it has worked very well.”

The company is importing increasing amounts of berries from Morocco. “They have excellent quality. They are pretty, sweet, crunchy and juicy. Sometimes you buy a box of berries that they are not juicy or firm, but, of course, with these it does not happen ”, assures Robbert.

The market keeps looking

Robbert expects the season to continue through week 22 this year. “However, that depends on several factors. One of them is the weather conditions, which have to be excellent to continue until week 22. This season, once again, bad weather has been an obstacle, for example for raspberries. This has caused the collapse of sales and the sharp increase in prices”. COVID-19 is another unknown. “The market is still searching and reluctant to commit to programs. There is a lot of uncertainty, so everyone is focused on what is best for them and for the producers, week by week.”

“The virus has also changed the internal focus of the company a bit. Now we pay a lot of attention to carriers, for example. Maintaining good contact with them is a full-time job. Are the shipments arriving early or late? These are some of the issues that we continually discuss with them so that we can always give our customers the right information,” explains Robbert.

Progressive company

This young progressive company is thriving. “The Moroccan market is growing and we are going along, naturally. To do this, we must adjust our sales in various ways. Now we are turning to consumption. Could we get them to eat more blueberries, for example?

Leisink doesn't have any concrete answers to this question yet, but he does have plenty of ideas. “Supermarkets still have many 125 gram trays for sale, but Scandinavian stores are increasingly offering 200 gram trays as a minimum pack. As long as the quality stays high, it should be possible here too, but consumers have to be willing to pay more.”

Taking the initiative together

This strategy retail it also offers other opportunities. “Supermarkets still use too much plastic packaging, which can be replaced by sustainable cardboard packaging, but the retailers they still often say they are too expensive. We believe it is possible to eliminate more plastic packaging from retail. If we take the initiative together, it can be done. I hope that a tipping point will be reached and that, in the future, retailers are willing to pay a little more for sustainable packaging. When one makes the leap, the rest will follow," concludes Robbert.