“In Belgium brands are more important than in the Netherlands. People aren’t looking for bananas here, but for Chiquita. It’s the same with oranges: customers don’t want oranges, they want Elefant,” says Rogier Coppens from Het Fruithuis. “That’s because they know these are quality products. We also tried Belgian brands, but most have become too common for us by now. We have to continue to be distinctive, which is why we chose a different brand. We have had Elefant for six months now, and demand increases every week.”
Packing station in Valencia
In consultation with supplier Willem Dijk, Rogier and fellow owner Ard Buijks visited the packing station Aguado, the shipping agent of Elefant in Valencia. “It was wonderful to see how the oranges were packed. I actually thought much would be done mechanically, but everything is manually packed. After packing, the products are shipped within 24 hours. Almost nothing is stored anymore. The Spanish season is calm right now, but the product still looks great. We’re now waiting for variety Powel.” Het Fruithuis currently offers many new spring products again. “We have plenty of strawberries and asparagus again. Customers now feel like spring because of the beautiful weather, so trade is fun now.”
Experience
Rogier emphasises that ‘experience’ is one of the most important things for retailers in order to continue attracting customers. “You have to remain in the picture constantly. That can be done in several ways, such as presentation in the shop, or sharing something on social media, for example. We visited Spain this weekend, and posted photos and videos of that visit on Facebook: they are viewed very often.” Het Fruithuis is located in Minderhout, just across the Belgian border. For more information:
Het Fruithuis
Desmedtstraat 74-76
2320 Minderhout
Tel: (0032) (0) 33140 241
Fax: (0032) (0) 34259 837
info@hetfruithuis.be
www.hetfruithuis.be