"Silence before the storm." That is how Wim Bouden describes these first weeks of December. The holiday season always brings peak sales for the Flemish sprouts company. This year, Wim expects no different, but for now, it remains a matter of waiting. "We are in the midst of preparations and expect things to burst loose around the 18th," he says.
"And then it usually runs until the 29th. Christmas and New Year remain truly peak days for sprout demand, giving dishes that extra touch of luxury and flavour," says the grower and trader from Deinze, Flanders. "Things are still relatively quiet now, but that will change completely from the end of next week, and we will switch straight to full capacity. Then, traditionally, ten particularly intense days follow. This happens every year. By now, we know that period always erupts. Fortunately, after all these years, we know the tricks of the trade and are well prepared. Everything is ready to handle the rush."
Crops overlap
The reason it is so busy, Wim explains, is that Christmas and New Year are naturally only a week apart. "Our crop needs 14 days to grow, so the two holidays overlap entirely in terms of production. That sometimes makes planning quite challenging. If Christmas fell on 1 December, for example, things would be much more ideal for us organisationally. But of course that never changes," he laughs. "December 25 and January 1 stay as they are. So we adapt to the calendar."
"Because the holidays fall on different weekdays each year, the peak moments shift slightly every time. In a year like this, for example, Christmas falls on a Thursday; last year it was a Wednesday, next year it will be a Friday. That means we always have to reassess exactly when customers start ordering. As early as the weekend before, or only on Monday. Either way, our planning is in place, and it works year after year."
So, are there any changes in the favourite sellers? "The frontrunners remain the classics. We have wonderful other products, like daikon or red cabbage sprouts, but people mostly stick to what they know: leek, alfalfa, red radish, and red beet sprouts are the favourites. The rest of the range follows at a distance. It also varies greatly from customer to customer: some hardly sell anything at Christmas, while others sell ten times as much. It depends on their customer base and which crops are popular with them."
Busy in January
The advantage for Kiem-X is that the company can always rely on a familiar product. "Challenges in cultivation are virtually non-existent for us. Of course, there are always small fluctuations, such as well water being colder after winter than after summer, and during a real heatwave, the heat penetrates the plants a bit more. But all of this is manageable. For us, it is daily business. We have become true masters of our cultivation, and fortunately, there are no particular problems. After the hustle and bustle of the festive season, we transition smoothly into January, which is also a strong month for us. There are many receptions, parties, family dinners, and restaurant visits. As a result, demand remains high, and the rush continues even after the holidays."
For more information:
Wim Bouden
Kiem-X
Peperhol 6
9850 Deinze, Belgium
Tel: +32 472 703954
[email protected]
www.kiem-x.be
