Italian products have, since 2000, proved hugely popular at Mooij Amsterdam. This Dutch company imports a wide assortment of Italian goods. Thursday, December 7, marked the start of the Italy season, which, depending on conditions, runs from late October to late March. A team of chefs provided live cooking, using the company's Italian imports as ingredients. People could taste, experience, and get ideas of what can be done with those products. After the pandemic, it was high time to organize an event.
Danny, Roel sr, and Roel jr de Mooij.
The day was all about Italy. Italian flags and, naturally, plenty of Italian products. Among them, top sellers like baby leafs under the Fino Fresco brand. That range includes varieties such as Rucola, Mesclun, Lamb's Lettuce, Baby Spinach, Mizuna (red and green), Red Mustard, and Cavalo. These products are offered year-round, and even in the Dutch season, it pays to import these goods from Italy.
For this, De Mooij works with a group of select growers and, thus, has an overview and control of the cultivation, packaging, and branding. Red lettuce, fennel, and spinach are other products that do well in the Italian range. The Italy team now boasts four people who import Fino Fresco brand products and re-export them within Europe.
Why such an event? Automation keeps advancing, says Danny de Mooij. "We're increasingly adding digital processes to our automation system, and intensive use is being made of the webshop. The company will continue growing in the coming years, and that new software gives us a solid foundation. Business processes have been made as efficient as possible," he begins.
"That's with inventory management, order picking, and alerts on the product's THT. Currently, 25% of customers physically purchase from our Cash & Carry, six days a week. That means you aren't reaching 75% of them. Clients want to buy more, more quickly, and more efficiently. That will lead to fewer people coming to markets and more remote trading."
"Mooij Amsterdam finds relationships vital. To still be able to meet each other, we plan to organize two to three individually-themed events a year. That could be a product, season, or country. The purpose is to catch up with associates and create a little experience," says Danny.
"They also show trends, and people get to know new products and concepts. By experimenting with (Italian) specials, there may be products that are or could become big in the future." Danny mentions Rucola and Padron peppers as examples. These began as small products but are now serious competitors in the range.
Knook AGF's Ronald and Theo flank Paul, Dennis, and Mike from VHC Jongens.
When asked about the products specially imported for the Italian day, Danny mentions four from a more extensive assortment. "Catalogna is a wild chicory and thus related to chicory and endive, among others. It's an authentic Italian vegetable mainly found in markets in the Lazio region. Brocoletto di Custoza is also typically Italian. The vegetable looks like a mini broccoli and is related to turnip greens. It's wholly edible and tastes bitter but nice and spicy. Catalogna Cimata is also an endive-like variety from the Lazio region," he explains.
"When you remove the outer leaves, you're left with a bouquet of asparagus-like shoots. These are called puntarelle. You can use both the leaves and the puntarelle. Finally, there are Pio Pino mushrooms, which grow to about 12 cm and have a fleshy structure. They grow in bundles like Beech mushrooms. These firm, meaty mushrooms taste slightly sweet and slightly nutty. In short, there are plenty of products with which to inspire the hospitality industry. The chefs also cooked with these products."
Live cooking
Fresh pack concept
The Fresh pack concept was introduced as a trial at the Italian Day. This added-value product displays well. Fresh packs are booming in the retail channel, but you hardly see them at greengrocers and market vendors. To fill that gap, an attractive outer box containing an information booklet and recipes was designed. The four different boxes are filled in-house.
There are two main dishes: seasonal red beet stew with apples and caramelized red onions and a seasonal vegetable traybake with apples and fresh herbs. The other two are soups, roasted tomato and bell pepper soup, and a sweet potato soup with Jerusalem artichoke and parsley gremolata. The idea is for customers to give feedback, fine-tune the fresh pack concept, and introduce it later.
Danny reflects on a lovely day. "There was an optimistic feel with plenty of visitors, both buyers and suppliers, and the food and drinks were perfectly supplied. It was a successful promotional day that we'll definitely follow up on. To end on an Italian note: Grazie mille per la vostra visits!" he concludes.
Click here for the photo report.
For more information:
Gebr. de Mooij Amsterdam B.V.
W-2 Foodcenter Amsterdam
190 Centrale Groothandelsmarkt
1051 LJ, Amsterdam, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 206 063 010
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.mooijamsterdam.nl