To go with scaling-up or focusing on a niche. These are all the options in the food and agriculture sector according to Hugo Vermeulen and Nic Jooste from Cool Fresh International. They bring us the uncrowned king of pineapples.
Travel, that is the advise Nic Jooste, Marketing and CSR Manager of Cool Fresh International, would give all other entrepreneurs. For only by traveling a lot can you anticipate developments in the horticultural sector. Jooste: “One of those developments is scaling-up. Smaller producers join large export organisations that, because of their scale, strike advantages in the logistical chain. Consider cost savings and combining volumes.”
“In our eyes there is only one alternative to going along with scaling-up: as a smaller company you should focus on market niches. Niches you can add value to. The grey mice, companies that chose not to scale-up or a niche, are in danger.”
“Choosing a niche automatically means a lot of traveling. To new production countries, such as Peru, but also to customers all over the world. What does a local society look like? How do shops function? How do they transport their food? And the most important question: how can we as a company offer added value to that consumer?”
One of the many examples of how Cool Fresh anticipates those niche developments, is the pineapple. General Manager Hugo Vermeulen: “We very consciously did not jump aboard the train of large volumes, but chose to develop a brand. BonSweet is a brand with a story, beautiful packaging and with different labels for different target groups. These niche markets were willing to pay for the specific taste sensation and the story surrounding it.”
Great common denominator of all these pineapples from Costa Rica: they are rainforest certified. Vermeulen: “Most supermarkets demand this nowadays. Product without CSR certification just have less chance to end up in a supermarket. CSR certification for products will become as normal as food safety in the future.
Beyond this certification BonSweet labels are very different. Nic Jooste: “BonSweet Blue is the pineapple for the masses that ends up in supermarkets, a fairly standard green pineapple of high quality, available in large volumes. BonSweet Black is tailored to the specific taste of South European countries, this pineapple is a little more yellow and ripe. BonSweet Select is an absolutely top quality pineapple, a premium product, which is sold, among other things, to restaurants. And finally, we are also developing an extra environmentally friendly pineapple: BonSweet Topless. Because we think it will anticipate future needs.
The Topless is a pineapple without a top, or crown. Jooste: “The crown does not have any added value, it is purely cosmetic. Furthermore, it is a potential breeding ground for fungi. A pineapple without a crown saves expenses when shipping, which go back to the grower.
Six pineapples with a crown fit into a box, but eight topless ones fit into the same box. Which is why this pineapple also produces less CO2 emissions. Furthermore, they also produce less waste, ‘less waste, more taste.’ In Costa Rica they are looking at ways of making the crowns into clean energy locally, or whether or not they can use the crowns differently.”
There are several hurdles to overcome for the BonSweet Topless. Jooste: “The retailer fully understands the advantages, but the consumer does not yet. To him, it looks as if there is something wrong with a pineapple without a crown. Furthermore, production has to be tailored to a similar pineapple. The chain is accustomed to a crowned pineapple, and therefore has to change. However, we believe in the future of this niche product.