Now also distributor of Del Monte bananas
He leads the company together with employee Gregory Goemaere. Everything happens in collaboration with the older generation: owner Fernand van Damme and employee Jean-Paul Goemaere. "We're the fifth generation in the family company", says Christophe proudly. "The main brands that Van Damme supplies are: Chiquita and Fyffes. We supply many other brands too, such as Turbana, which belongs to Fyffes, Bonita, and more and more private brands. The Surinam Swities also make up a large part of the sales. As of Monday the 16th of January we also became the distributors of Del Monte bananas in Belgium. This way we can offer a more extensive assortment to the customer."
Christophe Vandenbroeck
The manager indicates that they offer a full service. "The customer decides what they want in the areas such as packaging and ripening and we supply the complete package." Van Damme plans to expand in the next few years. "The last renovation was 5 years ago and we added 8 cells then. That was also when the old cells were last renovated. At the moment we're looking for new opportunities, maybe in different places. Our customers keep developing and we evolve with them. A company has to invest to survive."
"We can't complain about the year 2011", continues the manager. "But we are noticing that is becoming harder to receive the right margin per box. We have to work in quantity to earn. The competition in the banana market is increasing. That's why we're constantly updating our gamma and kinds of packaging." Van Damme mainly supplies supermarkets. Their main market is Belgium and then come Holland, France and Luxembourg. The banana gamma widens each year. "Supermarkets want more kinds and package to offer to the consumer. New innovations that our suppliers want to put on the market, are often 'tested' by us and we research how the market responds."
Banana prices decrease every year
According to Christophe there is enough banana production. It´s not hard to find bananas. As a result of this supply the banana prices decrease each year. Due to the large production and the limited market the prices remain low. There used to be peaks and dips in certain seasons, but this has been replaced by stability. It stays calm and the prices stay low." he doesn't expect this to change much in the future. "But we have to remain positive.""Organic could even be the norm on a long term"
Vandenbroeck indicates that the evolution in the organic market in the past years is growing. "The share of organics is now 10 to 15%. Three years ago it was half of that and the growth is larger than in the conventional. We only supply organic fairtrade. Today all supermarkets supply organic. This is growing, and in the future I expect it could even become the norm. Van Damme has done a number of investments in organics and we are fully certified."In 1928 Van Damme started on the importing market in Brussels. "We started selling fruit and veg. In the 60's the banana was a super exotic and we then started to specialise in bananas". Van Damme's subsidiary company is Aïda. This company is located in Brussels and is specialised in selling citrus, bananas and exotics.
For more information:
Christophe Vandenbroeck
Van Damme NV
Industrielaan 3
1740 Ternat - België
Tel: +32 - 25823131
Fax: +32 - 25824144
www.vandamme.be