Last week, hoarding took on a new dimension with the Coronavirus situation. We asked Category Managers Wim van den Burg and Ed van Venrooij, of Coop and Hoogvliet respectively, about the current state of affairs in the fruit and vegetable department.
"What is happening is unprecedented. As Coop, we are very pleased that we have a close cooperation with a select group of suppliers 
under the direction of Superunie. As a result, we can absorb the peaks of, for example, last week of almost 50%. There are only problem with partial deliveries from Spain like lemons, "says Wim van den Burg.
"In addition, we need to be a bit more creative with offers that take into account the pressure on the chains behind it. In summary: Our success is possible thanks to the extraordinary efforts of our suppliers. A very big thank you to them," says the Team lead category management dinner at Coop Supermarkten.
"Thanks to the enormous efforts of all colleagues, we are currently getting things back in order," says Ed van Venrooij van Hoogvliet. No one could have foreseen last week's big binge. Thanks to the right 
cooperation with our suppliers, we were able to quickly restore stock and are back to standard. "
"Ordinary products are going the fastest, such as apples, bananas, citrus. Potatoes were hard to come by in the first days, as were cauliflower, cucumber, tomatoes, beans. You also see less purchasing of meal salads, as these are often eaten at work," notes the category manager. "We expect issues in beans and bananas over the coming period. In terms of fleshy vegetables, the Spanish season is over and the Dutch season has started."