Two years ago, the management of Johann Quast GmbH first came across the high-quality baby leaves of the Danish producer AP Grönt. "We started with modest quantities for our own needs," says managing director Zidan Omeirat, who now acts as the exclusive sales partner of the Fresh Choice brand in northern Germany. "Over time, demand has grown considerably, so that today we sell up to 50-60 pallets of baby leaves weekly. In addition to supplying our own customers, who are mainly resellers and bulk consumers, a significant portion of the volume goes to local wholesale market colleagues, who in turn supply the food retailing industry with tray-packed goods."
Like many of his colleagues, Johann Quast GmbH mainly offered fine vegetables of Italian origin for many years. Omeirat: "Items such as baby spinach, rocket, and the like mostly came from the growing areas around Salerno and Naples and were then handled in Verona. The goods usually took at least three days to reach us. This was particularly critical in summer when temperatures reached up to 30 degrees, which meant that we often had to accept quality losses."
Lollo bionda and baby spinach in trays are particularly popular with food retailers.
Thanks to the exclusive sales cooperation with AP Grönt, this is now a thing of the past, Omeirat continues. "Most of the goods are grown just outside Copenhagen, almost 400 kilometers away from us. In practice, this means that the goods ordered in the morning arrive at our premises the same day, which in turn benefits the freshness and appearance of the product we market. In addition, the producer uses the most modern, advanced cultivation techniques, which also contributes to the high quality of the product. We have found that the quality is high and stable throughout the year, which in turn means that baby leaf is becoming increasingly important in all sales channels, even though the Italian product is offered at a lower price."
The salad mix is the absolute bestseller in the range. Right: baby spinach.
Expansion of the distribution network and product variety
According to Omeirat, the baby leaf mix accounts for about half of total sales, while other top sellers include rocket, baby spinach, and lamb's lettuce. "Our goal is to gradually expand sales further. We have the advantage that microgreens are obviously trendy. For example, we also serve many shipping companies in Hamburg and see great marketing potential for baby leaves in this sales channel as well. Furthermore, we have already acquired a customer at the Berlin wholesale market. The next step would be to win over marketing partners at other wholesale markets such as Bremen and Hannover. In the future, we also want to market our baby leaves outside the region, for example in the Netherlands."
Another goal of the exclusive sales partner is to expand the range of products. "In addition to baby leaves, AP Grönt also produces high-quality cresses. We would also like to offer these on a larger scale in the future," says Omeirat, referring to the mutual synergies of the cooperation. "With this mainstay, we have found a great and, above all, growing market niche. From the producer's perspective, the partnership is an important step forward in having only one main customer that also takes over all the logistics and marketing related to the product," he concludes.
A glimpse of the baby leaf range from Johann Quast GmbH: rocket (left) and lamb's lettuce in a bag. These delicate-leaved vegetables are grown in the Copenhagen area, both outdoors and in greenhouses.
Photo credit: Johann Quast GmbH
For more information:
Zidan Omeirat
Johann Quast GmbH
Wholesale Market Hamburg
Tel: 040 30 37 40 45
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.johann-quast.de
Fresh Choice
Kvinderupvej 2
3350 Slangerup
T: +45 25 59 17 06
[email protected]
www.ap-groent.dk/
www.babyleaves.com/de
