For the past 18 months Arie Havelaar and Sander Kleinjan have been building an impressive position in the world of garlic and ginger. Having been involved in these two products for most of their working lives, they have a solid grip on all aspects of the supply chain. Arie’s impressive network of contacts is particularly strong in the garlic and ginger regions of China. Sander on the other hand has been focusing on developing the supply base for ginger from Peru, Brazil, South Africa and other emerging ginger-producing countries.
Sander Kleinjan, Bert van Gelder and Arie Havelaar
They established Sawari Fresh International in March 2020. Arie: ‘From day 1 our focus on these two products exclusively has enabled us to take a strong position as ‘seed to table’ supplier. For years the popularity of these culinary products has been rising steadily, mostly due to new consumers’ focus on health and vitality. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the popularity. We also realized that the market was lacking specialization in keeping up with consumer demands in terms of food safety, quality, taste, and new innovations. The result is that we are creating a niche for Sawari by focussing on the latter – innovation."
Sander believes that this focus on innovation has not gone unnoticed amongst their customers. ‘We were already well-positioned to supply retailers when we started Sawari. However, our combined experience of more than 50 years also enabled us to spot opportunities for innovation. For instance, we invested in state-of-the-art washing, drying, and packing machinery for ginger. This enables us to bring our product in bulk from our growers, and to prepare each retailer’s order on demand. The result is that our retailers receive Sawari’s products directly after the washing and drying process. This guarantees a product with a great quality profile: externally and internally. Our bulk transport from origin is also better in terms of sustainability, as it curbs the forming of mildew (and food waste) due to excessive moisture in cartons’.
Sawari’s interest in growing ginger closer to the market started more than 5 years ago when they initiated a test in Portugal. The results were so promising that almost immediately after starting up Sawari the two partners invested in a project to grow ginger in local greenhouses. The first crop (June to August 2021) proved their belief that growing ginger in Dutch greenhouses would produce a magnificent product with low fiber content and a pure taste. According to Arie they will be rolling out the first field tests in Portugal, Spain and France as soon their first-generation planting material has hardened sufficiently. ‘We are collaborating with Wageningen University, Vertify Research and a world-class laboratory to develop a variety that is perfectly suited to European growing conditions. Our main drive is to create products that have a real added value, including in processed form’ says Arie.
Bert van Gelder, senior account manager says that as the popularity of a product grows the competition heats up. ‘This means that we can never lose our grip and focus on getting (and keeping) the basics right. We start by having direct control over the source of our products. Our way of working enables us to conform to all food safety and social compliance standards. Our supply chain is transparent and efficient due to our close cooperation with growers. Thirdly, we create tailor-made solutions in special packaging, direct shipments and client-specific labelling. Finally, having perfected the art of packing ginger as close as it possibly can to the end consumer in Europe, we supply quality that is consistent and dependable’.
In line with its drive to innovate and to continue improving its environmental (food miles) footprint, Sawari is currently also conducting research and field tests to develop a process through which locally grown (Dutch) garlic can be turned into a dried, retail-ready variant.
Sawari Fresh will be present at Fruit Attraction in Madrid, Stand 10E04.
For more information:
Arie Havelaar/Sander Kleinjan/Bert van Gelder
Sawari Fresh International
Tel: + 31 (180) 472 803
Email: [email protected]
www.sawarifresh.com
