Mehadrin Tnuport Export is taking a new course. Led by Managing Director Christiane Bell, who took office last year, this Israeli fruit and vegetable giant's Dutch sales office is expanding its activities to other sourcing areas from its new location at Koelcentrum Zederik in Gorinchem. "We're no longer limiting ourselves by country of origin," she says.
Christiane Bell joined Mehadrin on January 1, 2021. Her fruit and vegetable career spans 30 years at companies including BayWa, Penny Markt, The Greenery, and Metro/Makro Cash & Carry. Christiane has no issue traveling from Germany to the Netherlands several days a week.
"During the pandemic, it became clear that you can do some work just as well from home. That's something that was considered impossible before. I don't mind traveling a lot; I'm used to that. I love listening to podcasts and am not really tied to my house."
Safiya Gambarova, Christiane Bell, and Sander Venema.
Adjacent to A15
Mehadrin's head office is in Israel, with European branches in the United Kingdom, France, and Sweden. From the Netherlands, Mehadrin serves the Central European market, mainly German-speaking clients. The move from Barendrecht to Gorinchem was a good thing, says sales manager Sander Venema, who has been with Mehadrin for 15 years.
"Barendrecht has always been considered the center of the fruit and vegetable trade. But there have been several shifts. Our new location is right next to the A15 motorway, which leads to many of our buyers. And our neighbor, Chiquita, is a well-known figure in the fresh produce sector."
Mehadrin focuses on three product groups: citrus, avocado, and dates. "We're the largest citrus exporter in Israel, but we're focusing our growth mainly on avocado. We don't want to be limited by countries of origin," Christiane explains. Mehadrin avocado farm is its first step in growing activities outside Israel.
The goal is to expand sourcing internationally. "Our strategy isn't to start cultivation ourselves but to invest in already developed farms. We, thus, expect to expand our product range considerably. That's also why we've hired a new sourcing manager."
Year-round supply
Is that not counter the trend toward more specialization? "That depends on the starting point," Christiane answers. "That's certainly the case for companies that go from 150 to 50 items. We're coming from only three product groups. Customers want more products in the range."
"It's a missed opportunity if we don't meet that demand. At Koelcentrum Zederik, we can take care of all our clients' added value activities in-house. Think of things like cold storage, repackaging, logistics. We want to ensure year-round trade, not just for part of the season."
"There's an ever-increasing demand for dates too," adds account manager Safiya Gambarova, who hails from Azerbaijan. She joined Mehadrin in October 2021 after working for the Staay Food Group for ten years. "Dates are increasingly considered a healthy snack. Medjoul dates are particularly popular. Children prefer dates to candy as a treat. So, it's a product with enormous growth potential," she says.
World renown Jaffa citrus
Israeli citrus, however, has not grown in recent years. "In the winter, lower-priced citrus from other origins is available, so sales have declined slightly over the years. This year, logistics costs are sky-high, and delays further lower exports. We're still an important marker supplier of some varieties, such as red grapefruit," says Christiane.
"We're proud of the Jaffa brand, which is globally recognized. I think it's a shame that we cannot market Jaffa citrus as a club variety, like Pink Lady. That would've provided even more opportunities for the brand in the international market."
The corona crisis didn't really negatively affect Mehadrin's sales. "Our retail/wholesale ratio is about 60-40%," says Sander. "Our retail buyers took more products. That more than made up for what we normally sell to the hospitality industry. We, too, are facing a huge increase in costs. In time, that will affect the prices we have to charge for our products. Fortunately, we work with good customers who understand the challenges the rest of the chain faces."
Safiya says the current situation in Ukraine will result in a temporary surplus in the European market. "We saw that in 2014 after the Russian embargo. But, I don't think it will adversely affect our fruit sales in the long run."
Mehadrin is also experiencing considerable growth in organic product sales. "Healthy products are being highlighted, and organic products are hitching a ride on that. We're very active in the area of sustainability too. For instance, we're the first Israeli company to use the internationally recognized Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to measure its products' carbon footprint," Safiya concludes.
Mehadrin will be at Fruit Logistica in Berlin from April 5-7 in Hall 1.2 – D-03.
For more information:
Mehadrin
45a Franklinweg
Tel: +31 (0) 180 642 570
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.mehadrin.nl
