At the start of the German cherry season, the Früchte Bressan company from Eggingen can offer sufficient quantities of cherries; currently they offer the Bellise variety and in about one to two weeks they will have the Burlat variety, each of which is sourced from a grower in the Kaiserstuhl region.
As Jennifer Hotz informs us, there is a lot of interest in the cherries at this point in time: "Demand for the cherries is very high, as it is always a bit warmer in the Kaiserstuhl region and no one has cherries on offer here yet. However, this will subside as soon as private individuals can harvest their own cherries." The farm started selling cherries in week 21.
Jennifer and Stefan Hotz
The cherries are sold loose. "With us, nothing is packed in plastic. The goods are offered in 5-10kg wooden baskets, although we are flexible and we will cater to the wishes of the customers where possible. At the same time, we try to avoid the use of plastic as much as possible. If necessary, we tend to use paper bags," says Hotz.
Good sales in the catering trade
"We haven't had to raise prices
yet, and we can still maintain them because we buy the cherries as well as other goods directly from the growers. Our customers include the catering trade as well as private individuals, and we sell our goods once a week at our own weekly market stall. We also have a sales store here in Eggingen," says Hotz.
Since the weather is improving and the beer gardens are filling up, the gastronomy sales figures are satisfactory again, he says. "During the pandemic, we had a tough time. As mentioned, however, we are still able to maintain our prices due to regional sourcing. At the same time, we try to buy many products in bulk instead of individually."
Popular domestic produce box
In June 2019, the Hotz family took over the business and since then has also offered the so-called "Heimatkiste," which is stocked with regional fruit and vegetable products. "The demand for the Heimatkisten is extremely high. There is even a waiting list, as there are many interested parties. Every week we fill the boxes with different products. It is quite time-consuming to pack these boxes, but at 200 boxes a week it is not a very big problem. We like to pay attention to details, like how many children live in the household, if someone is single, etc. If a customer drops out, someone else moves up immediately. Corona in particular gave us a boost, because many people wanted to cook at home again," says Hotz.
Another trend she's seen in recent years is that some residential customers have turned more and more to home gardening. "In particular, people who were in home offices or working short hours have discovered growing lettuce at home for themselves," Hotz concludes.
Images: Bressan Fruit and Vegetables
For more information:
Jennifer Hotz
Bressan Obst und Gemüse
Bahnhofstrasse 6
79805 Eggingen
Tel: 07746 / 5055
info@bressan-eggingen.de
bressan-eggingen.de