Marco Romein: “We have come full circle”

On June 1, 1998, Marco's adventure started under the name Rainbow Snijpunt. As part of a graduation assignment, Marco wanted to create added value to the products of the then newly established growers' association Rainbow.

Even though Snijpunt has worked independently all these years, there has always been close cooperation with the growers' association. Which was also included in cooperative Harvest House after several mergers, the cooperative that Snijpunt also belongs to since May, 2 of this year. Again, under the same flag as Rainbow, with which the original plan comes into effect.

Marco explains: "Because my shareholder, Bjørn van Holsteijn, had indicated he wanted to take a step back, I was looking for an appropriate way to continue the growth ambitions for Snijpunt. In 2017 we got in touch with Harvest House to investigate the possibilities of growing more products of Dutch quality in winter. It did not take long before the conclusion was drawn: larger steps can be taken in this area if we work from a joint venture. With the request of Bjørn in mind, the merger with Harvest House was a very logical next step."

Harvest House is not only a cooperative but also owns several subsidiaries. Each knowing its own specific market:

• Terra Natura International for retail,
• Rainbow International for export of the entire fruit and vegetable range,
• Global Green Team for the overseas destinations.
• Green Blend is the youngest of the bunch and specializes in the valorisation of residual flows of fresh produce products (AGF).

And now Snijpunt is added to this list.

This merger is a logical addition to the current market combinations. With Snijpunt, the rapidly growing market of vegetable cutting companies and meal manufacturers can be approached with the full range of greenhouse vegetables from their own growers. Marco continues: "I see it as a major challenge to add the entire assortment of Harvest House growers to our range. And to our existing customers, which are particularly strong in the foodservice market."

Best of both worlds

An important aspect in choosing Harvest House is the fact that its subsidiaries clearly function autonomously. And yet have the advantages of working from a strong and innovative group. Cooperation in the field of sales, transport, product development, variety development, and marketing are some areas where there will clearly be synergy.

"We can now, for instance, offer a wider range of vegetables. And we have more knowledge at hand to advise our customers in terms of products, processing etc. With this merger, we also have our own quality management team at our disposal. With them, we can focus even more on food safety and certifications. Previously it was very difficult to go into very specific national certifications. Now we have that opportunity. Think of the English Field to Fork, the QS certification for Germany and the Dutch Milieukeur."

In this quality team, we also have, for example, a food technologist. Expertise that Snijpunt would never have been able to acquire independently. Now we can, and we have the opportunity to increase our knowledge of microbiology from our own research.

“Another big advantage is that we now have a shared interest in the development of new varieties with longer shelf life. While costs and margins could throw a spanner in the face of such developments, the growers themselves now also benefit more from the faster development of more sustainable varieties."

Business as usual

The merger will not affect the daily operations of Snijpunt. As we are an autonomous subsidiary, we can still purchase in the same way, for example. The best price-quality ratios remain our guideline. Just like before.

Jeroen remains responsible for purchasing and daily commerce. Just like Mark remains the general manager and thus the point of contact for all general matters within Snijpunt. Marco is still the commercial director and your point of contact at the sales department. Even though he will have more time with this step to also develop new products and services. The rest of our team is also ready for you as you are used to.

Plenty to do

Where in the Netherlands already about 30% of the vegetables consumed are pre-cut, in Germany that is, for example, less than 3%. Together with our customers and Harvest House, we want to ensure that this market continues to grow on a solid foundation. There is still a world to win!

Would you like to know more about the merger or related matters? Please contact Marco Romein via m.romein@snijpunt.nl or +31 174 637 900.