Cool Fresh reintroduces Freedom Fruit pineapples
Hugo Vermeulen, managing director of Cool Fresh International: ‘Since establishing Freedom Fruit in 2003, our company has endorsed the values of and corporate social responsibility. This resulted in Cool Fresh International in 2011 becoming the first fresh produce company in Europe to receive the CSR Performance Ladder certification. This certification has created solid incentives for many parties, and we are very proud that more and more producers are linking up with us in striving for sustainable and continuous improvement of the supply chain’.
With Freedom Fruit pineapples, Cool Fresh International keeps it simple, yet assures its clients of the following:
• Year-round supply of top quality pineapples from a CSR-certified supplier.
• Strong social and environmental awareness.
• Stringent food safety measures.
• Direct to retail programs.
Mario de Goede of Cool Fresh International’s pineapple unit says that the quality of Freedom Fruit pineapples are outstanding. ‘Our brand strategy has been developed over a period of nearly ten years. To protect the Freedom Fruit brand and to really give ‘body’ to our brand promise, we only pack the very best pineapples in our premier brand. But most importantly in terms of CSR, with Freedom Fruit pineapples we are now also in the process of implementing a new approach to our ethical trading strategies. Our focus is now to give our producers the opportunity to take the lead in their own environment, and to develop initiatives aimed at strengthening their local communities. During the coming months we will be rolling out a new social involvement program in Costa Rica, and together with Hugo I will be visiting our production units soon in order to finalise details’.
For more information:
Hugo Vermeulen or Mario de Goede
Cool Fresh International
Tel: +31 88 3 777 111