Dutch company Fruitmasters has made an eye-catching start to the country’s raspberry season as it continues to see demand for fresh berries in general expand across Europe, purchasing the first of this year’s harvested fruit from one of its grower partners, with the proceeds going to charity.
In a statement, Fruitmasters confirmed it had bought 12 cartons of the raspberries, all of which were the relatively new and trademarked primocane variety Kwanza, for €20.10 per box from local grower Gerard Vos.
The €241.20 total was donated to Epilepsiefonds, a charitable organisation based in Houten, near Utrecht dedicated to helping those with epilepsy.
As reported in a recent edition of Eurofruit, berries are becoming a big deal for Fruitmasters, nowadays representing around 30 per cent of its total turnover alongside its more traditional topfruit business.
The group recently established a new packing facility for soft fruit at its Geldermalsen headquarters in order to cope with the increasing demand that commercial director Leonard Kamspchöer believes is going to keep increasing.
“Consumers are becoming more and more interested in healthy eating and this is pushing up demand for berries,” he told Eurofruit. “We’re hearing this not just from our Dutch clients but also from customers in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe.”
He added: “Retailers here are copying the success of the UK where they are able to sell six or eight different strawberry varieties in the shops. Also, the fruit is not really as expensive as it was in the past: it’s now more reasonable for the grower and the consumer. The economics are improving and the category is growing.”
