Is ProeVkantoor taking on the retailers?

Retailers are becoming more powerful. It seems to be almost impossible to compete alongside these purchasing organisations. Yet, three years ago, Dutch company, ProeVkantoor, started doing just that. "I am passionate and have an agricultural background. I also live in the vegetable garden of the Netherlands", says Matthijs Post. Three years ago, he set up ProeVkantoor and he is the only link between growers and consumers. Matthijs puts together fruit and vegetable packs for clients on a weekly basis. They then collect these from a pick-up point. Included are recipes and stories about the growers. In the first year, he had 100 clients. Now he supplies 600 clients per week. He also has a network of 2 500 subscribers to his newsletter and 3 600 Facebook followers.

Matthijs Post of ProeVkantoor

Tackling the competition
In the coming weeks, ProeVkantoor will be closely involved in the Rabo AZ Foodtour. Here the AZ selection of primary schools children will be taught about healthy foods and a healthy lifestyle. ProeVkantoor is supplying the snack vegetables. In doing so, he is taking on the large greengrocers who usually focus on these young children. Yesterday morning (Monday, 19 March), the AZ selection kicked off the Foodtour in nine primary schools in Northern Holland. ProeVkantoor was there to supply the children with the tastiest (snack) vegetables from their 'back garden' - the North Holland cultivation areas.

"It fits nicely with the 'Dat Lust Ik Wel' Foundation's aim. Their goal is to motivate children to eat more fruit and vegetables. They deliver snack fruit and vegetables to schools and organise outings to the growers. In this way the children can see for themselves where their food comes from and how it grows", says Matthijs. "They will soon be my clients, so I need to sow now and harvest soon. Children's eating habits are very bad at the moment. Only 1% of primary school children comply with the norm. This means you must go through 4 classes to find that one child who eats 150 grams of fruit and vegetables!"

AZ player, Wout Weghorst, promotes healthy eating at a primary school in North Holland. Photo: Greenport NHN

Besides the Foodtour, ProeVkantoor is also involved in other networks. Here, he supplies non-retail fruit and vegetables and promotes the consumption of these fresh products. Via the Arts and Nutrition Association, he delivers to 50 General Practitioners practices where patients are helped to develop a healthier lifestyle. "It is a pilot project in collaboration with the 'Voeding Leeft' (Nutrition Lives) Foundation. It is also supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. They want to focus on the prevention of diseases. If nothing is done about it now, the pressure of so-called Western Diseases on the healthcare budget will become enormous. The assumption is that if people eat more fruit and vegetables, it will ultimately reduce health care costs."

70 growers
Various kinds of growers are presented in North Holland. There are full-ground and greenhouse vegetables, a diverse selection of top and soft fruit, and even a mushroom farmer. This means ProeVkantoor can offer a comprehensive, varied package to consumers. Martijn has contacts with 70 growers. "These include very large farms (Slagter, Jansen, Broersen) who also supply retailers. Even though it is not the same volumes they are used to, they find it interesting to supply me. Some of them feel their products are being ruined by the long logistical chains. when they supply me, they know for sure that their fruit and vegetables will be on the consumer's plate the very next day."

"I also, however, get fruit and vegetables from smaller, specialist farmers. They, for example, grow Bloemendaalse yellow cabbage and Westlandse green cabbage. You will not find these 'forgotten' varieties at the supermarket. The standard supermarket range has become very narrow due to the strict regulations. My relationships with the growers are excellent. All the agreements between the farmers and ProeVkantoor are made on the basis of trust. I do not pay attention to market prices as, so, do not barter with them."

Vegetables from ProeVkantoor. Photo: Greenport NHN

Distribution
Logistics is what causes a bottleneck at ProeVkantoor. "The V in 'proeVkantoor' stands for 'Vers, Veilig, Verrassend, Voordelig' (Fresh, Surprising, Affordable). These are my core values. The 'Fresh' value, in particular, causes logistics to be quite complicated. Home deliveries cannot be precisely calculated. Initially, my idea was to supply these packs to large businesses or at business parks. This, unfortunately, did not succeed. Then I started with these pick-up points, which have been working for three years. There is even a pick-up point at a large greengrocer. He likes it because my clients then often buy something extra from him."

The future
"I have been busy laying the groundwork for three years. I want to roll-out this formula countrywide. I can help other entrepreneurs set up this kind of business in their region. Soon, in collaboration with a growers' cooperative in Voorne Putte, I will begin to roll out this concept in the Rotterdam-Den Haag region. Since there are mostly greenhouse vegetables, I will supply part of the assortment from North Holland. I have also established contacts in Limburg (in the South of the Netherlands)."

For more information
ProeVkantoor
Matthijs Post
62a P.J. Jongstraat
Lutjebroek
T +31 (0) 640 256 505
info@proevkantoor.nl
www.proevkantoor.nl