"Fresh fruit available from vending machine 24 hours a day"

Bjorn De Schoenmaeker explained that in his surroundings in Brabant, Belgium, various vending machines have often offered bread and other products but fruit was unheard of. He saw a market here and two years ago he set up his first fruit vending machine. In 2012 he started his one man business VeGeFruit. In addition to working at the BFV as controller, he now cares for four fruit vending machines and also delivers fresh fruit to companies and institutions. "My customer base is very wide, from those purchasing just a few kilo's, pieces, or boxes to pallets. People get what they want. We offer our 'own' top fruit but in the summer we also offer soft fruit and other fruits which are available year round," explained an enthusiastic Bjorn.

Close to the source
"Initially people viewed the fruit inside a cooled vending machine suspiciously, but people are beginning to accept it. It is difficult to start such a venture and also to find the best location, but when you see that it works, it's wonderful. People look for what they want, insert money and the 'window' automatically slides open! The nice thing about it is that it is close to the source, the auction, and therefore removes the necessity for a middle man. The chain between grower and consumer is shorter which saves costs and the produce I deliver is fresher than in the supermarket."

24 hours per day
Bjorn indicates that people nowadays don't want to wait in a line, but want to buy things as and when they want to. "So they can buy fruit 24 hours per day, at a good price and are not restricted by time. I try to keep prices as stable as possible and this also builds trust. It is also important that the product remains as fresh as possible so you have to be on the ball. I don't know my customers so the product has to be good enough that they will come back again. I check the machines regularly and fill them when necessary. There are now four machines and I try to place a new one every year. Next to this I also wish to develop my company and institution deliveries; we see that there is enough demand."

This year, VeGeFruit are to sponsor the 45^th Dodentocht in Bornem. "I'm really proud of this. The event is recognised worldwide as one of the largest walking marathons." Fruit is being provided by VeGeFruiT,(www.fruitonderweg.be), Nicolai Fruit (www.nicolaifruit.be) and Enzafruit (www.enzafruit.be) with Jazz apples.

For more information:
Bjorn De Schoenmaeker
VeGeFruit
Tel: +32 - 0475 700 010
info@vegefruit.be
www.fruitonderweg.be
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