Martin Francis grew up in the fruit business; in 1993 his father started importing fruit from Malaysia, and when he was younger he would bring papayas and jackfruit to customers at Food Center in Amsterdam. After going to cooking school and taking some time off from his father's business, he returned, after eleven years. Now he runs Francis Trading with his brother in the new wholesale Food Center Westland in Poeldijk, Netherlands. 
Martin Francis
Francis Trading's assortment consists mainly of exotic fruits and vegetables, "Yesterday we received a shipment from Malaysia with jackfruit, but we also carry plantains, ginger, garlic, chili's and Thai vegetables. We also have a strong position with vegetables from India," says the trader. "The export of exotic goods to Europe is increasing. When my father started exporting jackfruit, he was one of the only ones, now many other importers have this fruit as well. Because exotic goods are more widely available now, they are also better known. Consumers like to work with these products, including more and more in the Netherlands as well."
Food Center Westland
"When I heard about the plans Food Center had I was immediately enthusiastic, and right from the start we were involved as a sales unit. The location and facilities are great. We are working on increasing our clientèle by keeping shopkeepers up-to-date on important information via Whatsapp," says Martin. Their clientèle mainly consists of Afro-Asian grocers and shops, "80% of our revenue is from abroad, and most of our customers are in Germany. We supply our goods with our own vans."
According to Martin, exotic sales always get a boost around Christmas time, "Take plantains for example, which are really scarce now; suddenly companies are calling up that you otherwise never hear from, or customers are placing triple orders. A challenge for the future is set up direct lines with more and more growers so that we can guarantee the availability of high quality exotics."
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Martin Francis
Francis Trading