"We believe that the middleman adds value"

The Belgian company, Alegriafruit, has been exporting fruit and vegetables to Italy for a number of years now. "We recently redesigned our brand identity and packaging with 'The Taste of Belgium's Finest' as our logo. Our aim is to export the best tasting products under this label. We find niches and then introduce the Italians to them", says Tom Vande Capelle. He and Gabriel Ghita own this company. The company works closely with Belgian auctions.

Middlemen
"At the moment, we are supplying Coeur de Boeuf and San Marzano tomatoes in our new packaging. If we find other nice, new products, we will definitely packing them under our new label as well. The boxes are already in various Italian supermarkets. Since our packaging is so distinctive, we clearly distinguish ourselves from Italian products."

He indicated that they have many good relationships in Italy. "The Italian supply chain goes via wholesalers to the middlemen. In this fashion, each link in the chain proves their worth. We believe the middleman adds value.

They have the in-house know-how that we still need to acquire. We also deliberately chose not to place our company name on the packaging. We want to market ourselves as a brand. If all goes well, our name will automatically be associated with the packaging." He added, laughing, "If things go less well, hopefully not."

Tom says Alegriafruit is a very flexible company. "Gabriel and I are attuned to each other and communicate in an open fashion. We respond to customers questions together. In addition, we have control over everything ourselves, including logistics. We foresee many opportunities in the coming year. An example is soft fruit. There was a lot of positive reaction to blackberries and raspberries at the MacFrut. We have a lot of respect for our Belgian growers. They are doing their utmost to grow a beautiful product. It is, therefore, our duty to market these as well as possible. We look for the best of the best and aim to have satisfied customers and producers."

For more information:
Tom Vande Capelle
Gabriël Ghita
Alegriafruit
Oostnieuwkerksesteenweg 101
8800 Roeselare - Belgium
www.alegriafruit.be
gabriel@alegriafruit.be
tom@alegriafruit.be