In the fruit and vegetable trade, you should probably always respond to customer demand for exotic products - especially as a catering supplier. But regional and seasonal classics can not be ignored either. Peter Windhaber, managing director of the Windhaber fruit company from Stubenberg am See (Austria) knows this.
At the beginning of the year he had added Austrian sprouts to the assortment (FreshPlaza reported), now followed by cress: "Cress that you'll find on the market usually comes from the Netherlands - but now I have found a company that sells goods from Austria." Due to its short transport route, the watercress is very well received by the trader's customers. The Austrian cress is priced a good 25% over the foreign goods. "We have to see how it looks with the year-round availability of Cress, I myself have only been in their assortment for a good three months." The sprouts Windhaber has been offering at the beginning of the year have seen little growth since then: "The product is popular with high-end restaurants. There is not much demand otherwise, but I will remain patient."
Fall classics
Meanwhile, the pumpkin harvest is over - in principle. In terms of consumption, it is
currently the peak season. "I get my pumpkins from Burgenland: the length of Naples, Hokkaido and Nutmeg, the former is particularly popular with commercial kitchens, because he has only a few seeds and a lot of pulp - 90% of the pumpkin are available." The Hokkaido is still the most popular variety, as it is well suited for soups and you can eat the bowl. So he is also in the food retail the pioneer. "Muscat, on the other hand, is characterized by its firmness and long shelf life, which is available all year round."
Exotics
Recently, Peter Winhaber also had something completely different in the assortment: "For a special event, I had a request for banana leaves." Although such exotics are not often requested, I can still deliver them. This was asked a good 150km south of Vienna, with very little ethnic gastronomy, but it's nice to see something extraordinary."
For more information:
Peter Windhaber
Obsthandel Windhaber
Zeil 82
AT-8223 Stubenberg
Tel: +43 6643879737
Mail: obst-windhaber@aon.at
Web: www.facebook.com/obstwindhaber/