"POP Fresh is like an open door, which allows small and medium-sized farmers access to international markets”, says José Cuacés of POP Fresh. "Most of these producers do not have advanced academic training, so in some cases they can not read or speak languages other than their own. Sometimes, all of this is a handicap for them to discover their products around the world. So that's where POP fresh comes in.
"Producers need to be able to just do their job: produce and distribute, and save time, because we do the rest, from the crop all the way to the point of delivery. At first, our producers were of Latin-American origin, especially from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. But we are working hard to make this ecosystem accessible to all producers; wherever they live. We can see from today that this work is bearing fruit, because we receive emails from Eastern, European and even Asian producers."
"POP Fresh is an online fresh produce market, comprised of a team of professionals with complementary experiences, which allows us to be as efficient and professional in many fields, such as: international management, purchasing, technology, logistics, quality control and sustainable development, and production. Our producers, (grouped into cooperatives, associations or independents) supply their bananas, pineapples, avocados, lemons, figs, cocoa, pitahayas, pomegranates, oranges and clementines. Our producers and distributors are selected with the utmost care, in order to make trust our spearhead."
Visit to pitahaya producers
“At the moment, our main market is France. We were able to connect banana growers in Colombia with distributors on Rungis in Paris, and it was a very good experience, with very positive feedback on our collaboration. Today we are advancing with distributors on the MIN Lille and start to promote our concept on other countries, including the Benelux. We are pleased to note that the contribution of e-commerce on this type of sector is starting to be appreciated. We hope we get to develop this ecosystem in several other geographical areas such as the Middle East or North America."
Packing Bananas
"In Europe, the annual consumption exceeded 6.2 million tons in 2016 (according to the report of the European Commission), giving it the second place in the ranking of fruits most consumed after the apple. At the international level, the banana market is very closed, from a commercial but also a political point of view. Indeed, this market is dominated by large multinationals. The three main banana supply areas of Europe are the Dollar Zone, the ACP and the EU itself; the latter has productions on its overseas territories such as the Antilles, which, unfortunately with the passage of hurricanes, saw its production destroyed by the forces of nature. Today, we can happily say that it has managed to rebuild."
"The banana market is growing steadily, thanks in part to lower tariffs on bananas originating from the Dollar Zone. However, this development is detrimental to European productions, which will be forced to multiply their efforts to maintain their high-end positions."
"The exotic fruit market is a thriving market because it is full of resources, and there are still many that we haven’t discovered yet. Examples include purple maize from Peru and Mexico, or the pitaya. For this to be possible, we have a long way to go regarding logistics, as exotic fruits are quite perishable."
"For example, in Colombia, there is a mango, called "mango de azucar ", with soft flesh and an extraordinary smell. Currently, we are working with Colombian producers to increase its popularity in Europe, nevertheless; the transport should be done by plane for the reasons previously named. But these additional costs make it less worth it to compete with other mangoes from Africa that do not necessarily require such speedy transport. We encounter problems like this every day."
Production of soursop
For more information:
POP Fresh
+33 6 95 06 52 67