Roamler launched the Berry Monitor eight months ago. This Dutch company is focused on the fruit and vegetable chain. It offers a system that holds European soft fruit data. It's available in a single, clear dashboard via a smartphone community. More than 30 parties have already subscribed. These include breeders, growers, exporters, and service providers.
"This information leaves no more room for interpretation or gut feeling. Strategies and negotiations are determined based on data. That appeals to the market," says Christiaan Rijnhout, who's the son of a fruit importer. Christiaan's been involved with Roamler for almost a decade now.
Roamler's Jilles Klumper and Christiaan Rijnhout
"When we started, we still had a lot of dummy data. Now, the database offers a wealth of information. You can easily identify trends using this. Our people visit 600 European supermarkets. These include Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Carrefour, and E-Leclerc. We give subscribers detailed unit, price, and promotion reports. Price tag photos and each product's country of origin are included."
"The monitor provides good insight into the seasonal transitions. That's by tracking suppliers and countries of origin. We have made some adjustments. For example, our 'Roamlers' in the UK and Germany now visit the supermarkets every week," continues Christiaan.
"At the start, the Berry Monitor focused on prices and countries of origin. Since then, we've added more variables. Now, users can easily monitor seasonal effects. You can also see exactly what kind of packaging and weight were used at any given time. We thus present the differences between retailers in one country on a silver platter."
"And those between different countries. That gives you a representative knowledge head start. It's generally ideal data for various parties. That includes exporters in South Africa, South America and Southern Europe. But buyers and account managers in Northwestern Europe too," Christiaan explains.
"The Berry Monitor offers producers and exporters simple tools. They can use these to develop their retail-focused management category further. Companies also like checking which market competitors are growing at retailers. The monitor often provides new insights, say, where market opportunities remain."
"For instance, a certain retailer might not yet carry a certain product or size. Or the organic products' share's still minimal. You can use this information to develop your proposal to the retailer or, conversely, your supplier," says Rijnhout. "Retailers are also very interested in our data. We have two of the largest German retail chains as customers."
"Most of the market reactions show that the monitor is user-friendly and complete. Growers and exporters often use our data in talks with retailers. This database looks more professional than showing your own photos. We have now fully developed the Berry Monitor. We're now receiving a lot of queries from the retail sector. They want us to roll out the monitor to other categories. These include fruit vegetables, top fruit, and citrus," Christiaan concludes.
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For more information:
Roamler Nederland
Christiaan Rijnhout
411 Westerdoksdijk
1013 AD, Amsterdam, NL
Tel: +31 (0) 682 800 186
Email: christiaan.rijnhout@roamler.com
Website: www.roamler.nl