On the 22nd of August the official signing of the new cooperation agreement between Veiling Hoogstraten and Vincent van GoghHuis took place in Zundert, Nertherlands. All present including the mayor and the alderman were welcomed by the director of the Vincent van GoghHuis, Ron Dirven. He was strongly in favour of the new cooperation. "At the beginning of this year we started the discussions and very quickly a decision was reached. Both parties aim to make their product better known in Europe and together we are of course stronger."
The chairman of Van GoghHuis, Johan Brosens, mentioned that there are more companies which support the Van GoghHuis. "But with Veiling Hoogstraten we will reach a new public, the world of the strawberry. It opens great possibilities by making the brands known together. In this way we will have influence on an international level: with Hoogstraten we can go further into Europe."
Signing the agreement
Special brands
According to Johan there are many similarities between Hoogstraten and Van Gogh. "Both have a special brand, but Vincent was very well known in Belgium, the Netherlands and France and that is the same with the Hoogstraten strawberries. In addition both of us want more publicity and sales and are proud of our 'products'."
Jan Engelen, Johan Brosens and Ron Dirven clearly enthusiastic about
the cooperation
Jan Engelen of Veiling Hoogstraten mentioned the close ties with Zundert. In 1998 the cooperation with CLTV Zundert started. About one third of our growers come from Zundert and together we attach importance to three pillars: quality, innovation and sustainability. Zundert is not only the birthplace of painter Vincent van Gogh, the region is also well known for its strawberries. With a volume of more than 29 million kilo the region Hoogstaten-Zundert is even of importance on the European market, both as far as volume and quality are concerned.
A lovely strawberry brunch could be enjoyed
Uniquely different
"A marked similarity between Veiling Hoogstraten and the Van GoghHuis is that both of us offer an exclusive product. We are ready to cooperate and our growers are in full agreement as well. We will be different in a unique way and that is very important in the very competitive fruit and vegetable world. It is actually a pity that we cannot ask Vincent any more to paint a picture about strawberries," Jan concluded with a laugh.
On Wednesday, 22 August 2012 a three-year sponsorship agreement was signed with the option to extend to six years. Hoogstraten annually pay an amount of Euro12,500 to Van GoghHuis. As compensation Van GoghHuis will promote the Hoogstraten strawbrries