The AGF Trendcafé of November 10 was all about organic. The participants also visited De Groene Winkel (“The Green Shop”) in Zeist, the Netherlands. The shop has a retail floor of 675 square metres, which means there’s also room for a large fresh produce department. Entrepreneur Rudi Gerding says that the fresh produce department, with an 18% share, is rather important when it comes to revenue.
Import
Rudi notes that organic vegetables are available year-round now. “Only when winter vegetables like kale and sprouts are running low, it’s tough. Then we’re out of produce sometimes. When we started with our organic food shop, it was all very tough in winter. In the 1980s, the winter was mainly filled in by Israel. We got tomatoes, mini cucumbers, Chinese cabbage and celery there.” If necessary, Rudi prefers foreign products. “If I have to choose between a ‘pathetic’ head of lettuce from the Netherlands or a firm head from France, the latter is preferred. And how useful is it to offer a greenhouse cauliflower from the Netherlands for a lot of money, while a good alternative is available from abroad?” With products that come from far away, De Groene Winkel sometimes chooses for the customer by not including the product. “This applies to flown mangoes, for instance. And sometimes we let the customer decide for themselves. With flown green beans from Egypt, we clearly put this on a sign. Then the customer can decide whether or not to buy these beans. You’re really looking for a sort of equilibrium between regionality and global economy.”
The biggest difference with the time when Rudi started, he says, is that now there’s a full organic range. “There are fewer and fewer gaps. For our citrus we can go to South Africa, and we get leafy vegetables in Spain and Italy. The local and Dutch range really isn’t enough to have a well-stocked organic fresh produce department year-round. That isn’t sufficient for the customer.” Rudi emphasizes that it’s essential that the products are fresh. And what about quality? “We don’t have to have a class 1 apple. Small defects are allowed, such as a rough skin for a Conference pear, but it shouldn’t be too much. The organic consumer doesn’t like that either.”
Difference organic/conventional
When asked how the organic fresh produce department differs from conventional, he has to think for a moment. “I really don’t look at conventional that often. I think the biggest difference is that in the organic food shop, there are relatively few processed products available. Of course we do have rocket and cut vegetables, but this range is a lot smaller than in conventional shops. Some products, like cooked beets, do perform well.”
Refrigeration aside, the organic fresh produce department is a lot more varied, according to Rudi. “For instance, we even have bergamot lemons, with which our customers can make Earl Grey tea. Products like these sell very well here, because in general we have many curious customers, who are often willing to try something new. Forgotten vegetables like salsify, Jerusalem artichoke and parsnip are also still very popular. With these special products, we have been able to stand out in health food for a long time now.” Rudi notes that new customers are frequently surprised about the versatility of the product range. “I know people are often surprised about this. For our regular customers, this is a given.”