The Weitz family name has been firmly established in the regional fruit and vegetable trade for decades, and, according to the company itself, it is the "Oldest business on the Duisburg wholesale market." Starting as a wholesaler of agricultural products, the family business with its own cut fruit production has developed over the years into a leading supplier to the catering and communal catering industry in the Rhine-Ruhr Area.
The foundation of Weitz Frischdienst GmbH in 1986 laid the basis for the successful cut fruit and vegetable business, says managing director Maria Röskes, who runs the family business together with her brother Raymund Weitz in the third generation. "In the beginning, we even delivered goods to food retailers, including Lidl and Edeka. Classic mixed salads were particularly popular back then." In the course of fundamental structural changes, the focus gradually shifted to supplying restaurants and communal catering. Parallel to the changing sales structures, the range of convenience products was also significantly expanded. "Fruit salads and vegetable skewers are now also among our bestsellers."
© Hugo Huijbers | FreshPlaza.com
Maria Röskes is the proud managing director of Weitz and runs the company together with her brother, Raymund Weitz. The business supplies the Frank Schwarz Catering Group, which is also based at the wholesale market.
The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 was also a major setback for Weitz Frischdienst GmbH. However, the company made a virtue out of necessity by creating its own online shop for fruit boxes of all kinds. Röskes: "With this shop, which was designed by my son, we have succeeded in appealing to private customers as well. The online shop has now developed into a successful additional source of income."
The company continues to see itself as a link between regional producers and the catering industry and communal catering, Röskes continues. "Where possible, we source our produce directly from farmers in the neighborhood." At the procurement level, increasing weather extremes sometimes pose major challenges for the business. "Due to heat and hailstorms, regional outdoor lettuce crops have suffered greatly. I therefore cannot rule out that there will soon be a shortage of supply."
© Hugo Huijbers | FreshPlaza.com
Over the past four decades, the business structure of the wholesale market has changed completely. Röskes: "The number of customers who come to pick up their orders is negligible these days; we almost exclusively deliver."
A woman in a man's world
Röskes has spent almost her entire career at the local wholesale market. "As one of the few women in a man's world, it was difficult at first, but you get used to it over the years. In the fruit and vegetable wholesale trade, every day is different anyway, which requires a certain amount of flexibility." According to the experienced vegetable merchant, the wholesale market generally has an 'image problem'. "We would like to see a little more appreciation for our work, but also for agriculture as a whole."
For more information:
Maria Röskes & Raymund Weitz
Weitz Frischdienst GmbH
Duisburg wholesale market
Tel: +49 0203 998990
[email protected]
www.weitz-frischdienst.de
