In recent years, Kompany, a Dutch cooperative, took strategic steps to ensure it could supply its customers with fresh cucumbers year-round. That resulted in a Dutch cucumber supply from lit cultivation in winter. It was a great addition that also responded to the market demand at the time. Then, unfortunately, the energy crisis hit.
It became evident that growing under lights in the winter in the Netherlands was becoming increasingly costly. The gas and energy markets are very uncertain, too. These conditions made competing with overseas producers in a competitive market like cucumbers difficult. All that led to concerns about guaranteed product availability, so market interest in this production declined.
But demand for cucumbers cultivated to Kompany standards and supplied from the cooperative's reliable grower base remained. That prompted Kompany to explore overseas winter production. The cooperative has worked well with partners in the Almeria region of Spain for many years. With their help, extensive consideration was given to opportunities and risks for such a move. For Kompany, the main focus was that they needed to cooperate with local parties to achieve success. That ultimately led to a fantastic new step for Kompany.
This winter, for the first time, Spanish Kompany cucumbers will be available. These will be grown in partnership with well-known Spanish grower José Guillén, whose company Agricolas Coco is already established in the Almeria region. Kompany has formed a joint venture with Agricolas Coco called CoKompany and, thus, has invested in its own cultivation in Spain. Kompany will, of course, sell these cucumbers and has arranged with José to market his remaining cucumbers.
This collaboration and investment means that from this winter, Kompany will sell around 27 ha of Spanish cucumbers straight from the source. That is also the way Kompany will market this product. As an extension of the grower and the crop, Kompany is the pre-eminent market partner when it comes to cucumbers.
The company has years of cultivation know-how, which it is merging with overseas cultivation knowledge, plus proven marketing and market expertise. Kompany, therefore, thinks it has found another sound answer to the market and client demand for year-round reliable, high-quality product.
"There are still opportunities for Dutch cucumber in the winter, which we'll happily discuss with interested buyers. However, by taking this step in Spain, a year-round supply of high-quality Kompany cucumbers is guaranteed for the future," a cooperative spokesperson concludes.
For more information:
Bern Verbeek
Kompany
Tel: + 31 (0) 773 030 731
Email: b.verbeek@kompany.nl
www.kompany.nl