The summer hustle and bustle is in full swing at the sprout vegetable company, Kiem-X. "It's a tradition that when the weather is good, our sales go well. This year is no different. We're riding the wave of the good weather, and we've had plenty of it. Spring was beautiful, the Easter holidays were sunny, the weekend around May 1st was great, and June brought more fine weather. Now we're halfway through July, and the forecast is still warmer than average, so with the Belgian bank holiday on 21 July coming up, we're expecting another sales surge," says Wim Bouden of the Deinze-based company.
"We can't complain. Business is running like clockwork," he continues. "To be honest, it shouldn't get much busier either, as the vacation period is starting. That always makes staffing a bit of a puzzle. Our permanent employees go on holiday, and things get more hectic for those who stay behind. You can't fully make up for it with student workers, so it'll be a tough summer. Still, you should never complain about strong sales," Wim laughs.
New introduction
Communions, weddings, barbecues, holidays—these are the moments when people reach for our products, and they always coincide with nice weather. We've just been lucky this time. The challenge is that it puts pressure on us, not only in terms of workload but also in forecasting production. You don't want to end up with too much or too little. Leek sprouts, for example, take 14 days to grow, but you can never predict the weather two weeks in advance. It all comes down to experience."
For Kiem-X, the busy period aligns perfectly with the launch of a new product. "There's always steady demand for the classics like leek, red radish, and red beet sprouts, but we've just introduced Lucerne sprouts with mustard. The more neutral taste of alfalfa, which resembles head lettuce, now comes with a spicy mustard aftertaste. We distributed the first samples to our customers this week, so it will take a while before we get feedback, but we're expecting good reactions. It's very tasty."
Patience
Since 1 January 2024, the company has been affiliated with BelOrta, a move Wim is pleased with. "We haven't seen new customers pouring in overnight, but that's a long-term process. We're confident more customers will follow. People usually stick with their regular suppliers and don't switch easily. Sometimes it takes a while, sometimes a bit longer. The longest I've ever waited between sending a quote and making a sale was 10 years. Patience is a virtue in sales, but for now, we're very happy with our step toward BelOrta. It's a dynamic cooperative. Now we're focusing on the busy summer, after which things typically quiet down in the autumn, until the real peak period begins again during the holidays."
For more information:
Wim Bouden
Kiem-X
Peperhol 6
9850 Deinze, Belgium
+32 472-703954
[email protected]
www.kiem-x.be
