After trading soft fruit for the last few years, Lucas Wennekers started his own company called Bessies last month. This young company's name is not only a nod to Lucas' Dutch background but also refers to his focus on berry cultivation in Africa.
"This step into self-employment fulfills a long-cherished wish. I've started alone, but I want to sell berries worldwide with a team someday. Initially, I'll focus broadly on sales towards European retail and wholesale. I've recently built my network on both the sourcing and sales side, and I'm focusing on blueberries, supplemented by strawberries. But eventually, I want to sell the entire soft fruit package, including raspberries, blackberries, and redcurrants," says Lucas.
Blueberry cultivation in the Balkans, where Lucas was last month.
For now, he is trading from home, with the goods arriving at Berry Packaging Services in Venlo. "This week, I get my first shipment of Eastern European berries. I work with about four growers there. The Serbian and Polish seasons started somewhat slower. An earlier start was planned, but bad weather delayed harvesting, and the first picking has tentatively started. The market isn't as demanding as a few weeks ago when demand was very high."
Lucas is particularly interested in cultivation in what he calls new African growing areas. "It's not such an art to import a few containers from a big professional Peruvian grower every week," he says. "I want to focus on cultivation projects in Africa that aren't yet so large-scale in Africa. You can also do a lot, socially, for smaller passionate growers."
"Those regions in, for example, East Africa, have heaps of potential. Everyone's in Morocco, but even there, there are quite often problems with customs or delays. I see a lot of potential in, say, Tunisia. It takes 24 hours by ferry to reach Genoa (Italy) from Tunis. I think there's much logistical potential to serve the European market from there," Lucas concludes.
For more information:
Lucas Wennekers
Bessies
Mob: +31 (0) 639 663 271
Email: lucas@bessies.nl