In the Netherlands, the artisanal raw food salads prepared fresh daily at the Den Hollander family's greengrocer were a regional staple for years. When, 20 years ago, the processing space behind the store grew too small, Erik Den Hollander and his wife Aleida decided to start an independent business, and Eurosalad was born.
This company now supplies numerous supermarkets with raw vegetable and fruit salads. "Though the volumes have increased considerably over the years, one thing's stayed the same. The products' flavor remains paramount. I want to be proud of the products that leave here. That's much more important than a fast earnings model," Erik begins.
"We were true pioneers at retailers with our raw food salads. Back then, there were none of these at supermarkets, and you had to explain to people what a raw food salad was. But with our greengrocer experience, I saw great potential. We started small and, by working really hard, built up a customer base. I initially didn't want to supply large supermarkets, and I wanted to spread sales as much as possible because I didn't want to be too client-dependent."
"But, eventually, we were delivering directly to as many as 200 supermarkets daily, which became a huge logistical operation. We then considered our core values and returned to being a true production company, delivering our salads mainly at the DC level. We now employ 40 people, and our raw food salads are in several supermarket groups in the Benelux," says Erik.
Bulb garden
Eurosalad still supplies several independent buyers, who often try out the new salads. "We call this our bulb garden." By now, the assortment consists of 16 different raw food salads, some made customer-specific. "Our favorites are coleslaw, broccoli garlic, the Egg of Columbus, and Waldorf. Everything's customizable to the client's liking. "
"Our standard package is 200 grams, but we have a 450-gram discount one, too, and hospitality buyers take 1kg and 1.5kg packs. The customer is king, but flavor and quality remain our minimum requirements. Market demand means we've added fruit salads to the range. That's a growing branch, but raw food salads are still our core business," Erik explains.
Although he follows the machine market closely, most of the company's salad production is done by hand. "What has to be done manually, we do manually. So far, no machine I've seen has come close to meeting our needs. A Eurosalad salad should stand out for its pure flavor, crispy bite, and fresh, tasty appearance. You can't do that mechanically."
"We use a spoon to fill the trays so there's more product and less dressing. That complements the flavor to finish the salad; it mustn't overpower it. That takes many skilled people but means we deliver a product we fully support. We're, thus, not growing as fast as we could, but so be it," Den Hollander says.
Conquering Europe
That does not mean Eurosalad has no goals. "Our name was born out of ambition. I wanted to conquer Europe with our salads 20 years ago, and that's not changed. In a country like Germany, there are still plenty of opportunities in the convenience area."
"We're facing more competition from the big national vegetable processors, but the difference is, with our company, the end product's always paramount," Erik points out. And if a vegetable processor wants to outsource its raw vegetable salad production? "Then they especially must call."
Eurosalad sources most of its fruit and vegetables from importers and traders. In the main season, the company gets vegetables directly from growers too. Eurosalad takes care of the salad's conditioned transport to customers to also guarantee careful quality control there.
"Also, we're very progressive with innovations and are, for instance, currently developing a protein salad. We're confident about the future. The biggest challenge is to expand the company as much as possible with the right people. We remain a family business and want to keep providing great products," Erik concludes.
For more information:
Erik den Hollander
Eurosalad
16B Hulsebosch Street
4251 LR, Werkendam, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 183 501 473
Email: Erik@eurosalad.nl
Website: www.eurosalad.nl