"The fresh fruit and vegetable sector could do with a little more pride"

He, however, did not simply throw in the towel. "The site's access was so good; something had to be done about it. On busy days we use our own traffic controllers here. We do this together with members of the Handelsweg business community. It frustrates me enormously. After a year of this, I went to the Provincial government with a few of my colleagues. Our message: we have a beautiful, profitable business terrain. We are known worldwide. But, we cannot go any further. If the ministers see the economic importance of this terrain, they must be willing to play their part. Since then, a vision for the area has been formulated. There is also a plan for tackling the area's infrastructure. Through these, we have been able to achieve a lot. The business park is also again a matter of priority at the provincial, as well as municipal, level." 

The Van Gelder and Bakker Barendrecht companies have already signed up for land at Nieuw-Reijerwaard. "It would be fantastic if a supermarket DC or, for instance, an e-commerce company would set up shop on the premises. We must not be afraid of this; we must rather go for it", says Johan. He is also keeping the option of a new Cool Fresh building open. He first wants to see how the current location's infrastructure is going to look. "The type of trade centre we have here is truly unique. Thanks to its unique location, behind the ports, this sector has grown enormously. The effect of the market forces also, of course, contributed. We just forget to tell the rest of the world about this."

"Personally, I was a little surprised by the lack of cooperation in the fresh fruit and vegetable sector. I come from the out-of-home-sector. There we worked together, regardless of the competition. Here, in the business park, besides a few boxes of lemons or parsley, the average fruit and vegetable company does not see past their everyday issues. I am calling for more cooperation in many areas. It does not matter to me whether a potential trade delegation comes here to Cool Fresh or another company on the site."

"We have picked up the gauntlet. We are organising a two-day event. It will take place on 4 and 5 October in the Maassilo in Rotterdam. We are doing this together with the Rotterdam Foodcluster and a number of companies from the fresh fruit and vegetable sector. At the event, we will work with 200 17-25-year-olds in multidisciplinary teams. We want to tackle the existing issues in our sector", explains Johan. The event is being presented by the Rotterdam Food Cluster, in collaboration with Bakker Barendrecht, Cool Fresh, GroentenFruit Huis, Hessing Supervers, Koppert Cress, Rijk Zwaan, The Greenery, and 4Evergreen. 

This two-day event will kick off with inspiring speakers on the Thursday evening. The participants will be facilitated by team coaches, inspirational sessions, and workshops. The 'inner being' will, of course, also be well looked after. The participants can overnight in the vicinity of the event, if they so choose. On Friday, the day will end with an expo. Here the results of the challenges faced by the teams will be presented. A professional jury will choose a winner who will be able to further develop their concept at an international business. The winning team will also go on a field trip to South Africa.

"We are going to ask the youngsters how the fresh fruit and vegetable sector can stay relevant in the future. We are deliberately keeping the scope of the question wide. We want them to come up with their own ideas, from which we can learn. Young people are the consumers of the future. Their fresh input is essential to keep the food sector innovative", says Johan. "By participating in the event, these youngsters will get to know the sector. They expand their network, and they can make a real difference in the global fresh fruit and vegetable sector."