The German lettuce season was officially launched this month, with shipments of the first greenhouse produce from the vegetable island of Reichenau. "The supply is still limited to oak leaf light and lettuce, in about two weeks the first Lolo Bionda and Rosso, as well as oak leaf red, are expected to hit the market," Andreas Heizmann, co-managing director of Freiburg-based wholesaler Frischebrüder Ltd reported.
The first Reichenau lettuces are currently traded at 17 euros/box (12-er), Eichblatt hell is about 13 euros/box (9-er). Lolo lettuces (pictured above) will not be available for about 2 weeks.
Seasonally, marketing in January and February is rather quiet anyway. Lettuces from southern German cultivation as well as neighboring countries are nevertheless well received by consumers, Heizmann knows. "We have regional lamb's lettuce on offer throughout, and because of the relatively mild winter we had quite abundant yields this year. Despite considerable cost pressure and rising raw material prices, such as fertilizers, we can look back on a quite satisfactory lamb's lettuce campaign."
Thomas, Egon and Andreas Heizmann, together at the helm of the Freiburg-based Frischebrüder family business.
Direct imports from Provence
As a classic winter salad, lamb lettuce is largely sourced from southern Germany. "Only in the week before Christmas did we have to resort to French lamb's lettuce as a supplement, due to an acute increase in demand." For the other lettuce crops, there was an increased reliance on other sources. "We source iceberg lettuce mainly from Spain, and variegated lettuce comes mainly from our regular suppliers in French Provence. Thanks to good networking, the goods will arrive in Freiburg within a day of harvesting. Due to the weather, the heads are currently somewhat smaller than they were about two months ago," says Heizmann.
Reichenau greenhouse production: In the case of Spanish iceberg lettuce, the market-standard 10- and 12-head calibers are currently available in sufficient quantities.
Slight upturn in out-of-home consumption
Frischebrüder Ltd was founded in 2019 and supplies a wide clientele in a radius of about 100km. Heizmann: "The catering industry is still very much weakened. We are observing considerable pressure to start relaxing restrictions on the catering industry, particularly as the school restrictions have already been relaxed. Also, the first major public events are taking place again, so the out-of-home consumption is picking up slightly."
Reichenauer lettuces will soon be available in abundance.
Overall, Frischebrüder has come through the crisis well so far, Heizmann concludes. "Of course, we also face the current challenges, such as rising costs. Nonetheless, we are now in the process of increasing our staff in purchasing and sales so that we can optimize and intensify customer service within our catchment area accordingly."
Images: Frischebrüder Ltd / Johannes Hugo
For more information:
Andreas Heizmann
Frischebrüder GmbH
Stübeweg 53
79108 Freiburg im Breisgau
T + 49 761 559 37-0
F + 49 761 506 320
[email protected]
www.frischebrueder.de
