In the area of overseas articles, it is becoming increasingly difficult for new people to assert themselves within the group of long-time importers. But the Direct Fresh company, based in Hamburg, within five years has managed to establish itself as a competent (exotics) supplier on the market, winning customers throughout Europe. Despite the well-known ranges of goods, there are still new opportunities for specialists to improve their position in the trade, as CEO Dirk Landahl said in an interview with Freshplaza.
Brand identity
Since its founding in 2013, the main focus of the Hamburg-based company has been on the Europe-wide marketing of mainly green bananas to the food retail sector (LEH). It also offers mangoes and avocados as specialties until the start of the European season, and there is the trade in Chinese garlic and ginger, says Landahl. “Since 2016, we have been marketing solo garlic from China, and its sales have already doubled in 2017. This year too, marketing is going very well. At the end of April, we received a shipment, planning to market it in four weeks, but everything was completely sold in four days. Mangoes, avocados and garlic are already available under our own brand Fresh Planet and ginger will be added by the end of the month.”
After an exciting initial phase, Landahl completed a complete restructuring of its team and restricted its trade to 5 to 6 major products. And not without success, because nowadays the import company serves retail chains as well as specialized shops throughout Europe. According to Landahl -who had long been involved in the exotics business before founding the company- the rapid growth of the Eastern European market was particularly noteworthy. "When I lived as a manager in the Czech Republic in the late 1990s, for example, there were only Ivory Coast pineapples caliber 12 available over there and many other products were not available at all. This has completely turned around over the years, although we still see significant differences in demand. For example, we market a lot of pomelo in the Czech Republic, while here there is not much demand for the product. The trend clearly goes towards bigger fruits, but the price may not exceed a certain limit, depending on the article.”
'Hanseatic'
No matter where the company's exotics end up, current food retailing opportunities are particularly demanding, Landahl said. Above all, the requirements regarding product size are a long-term challenge for the exotics business. “Marketing of products that do not meet the desired sizes is particularly challenging. The shelf life of items such as garlic and ginger makes it a bit easier." Nonetheless, the founder of the company believes in stability and continuity. "I value a stable market, so we know exactly what we have in terms of costs and volumes. I also see myself as a Hanseatic, loyal trading partner.”
In order to continue serving his customers in the future, Mr. Landahl is currently considering new expansion steps. In addition to the expansion of its own brand appearance, the organic share of Direct Fresh is remarkable as well: over half of the apples is already available as organic products. In the banana range, the firm has specialized almost exclusively in organic products (and Fair Trade as well). In the future, Landahl also wants to increase its organic share in the mango and other exotic ranges.
Product spectrum
Dirk Landahl worked for the Atlanta Group and Port International GmbH before founding Direct Fresh GmbH in 2013. From the beginning, the company has specialized mainly in importing and supplying food retailers with bananas and exotics. The product range includes bananas, mangoes, avocados, ginger and garlic as well as citrus, apples, pears and grapes. The corporate philosophy is based on three pillars: uncompromising freshness, long-standing relationships with the producers and Hanseatic reliability towards its customer base.
For more information:
Direct Fresh GmbH
Kiebitzhof 9
22089 Hamburg
Telephone: +49 40 20007450
Telefax: +49 40 200074510
Email: info@direct-fresh.de
Web: www.direct-fresh.de