Freshpride and Olympic Fruit consolidate European trading activities

From left to right: Dick Donker, Rob Bras, Christian Schouten

“Choosing to serve our European customers from one specialised team is a logical step,” says Dick Donker, Commercial Manager at Freshpride. Until now, both companies have been active in Europe: Freshpride mainly in Southeast Europe and Olympic Fruit primarily in Northwest Europe. “With this move, we can combine forces and further build on the expertise of both companies.” 

 to further strengthen its position in overseas markets. “We do this from our own procurement- and sales offices in the Netherlands, Serbia, South Africa and Singapore. Thanks to our local presence and colleagues who know the market inside out, we are able to serve customers there extremely well. We aim to strengthen that position further in the coming years,” Dick Donker adds. 

Rob Bras, Commercial Manager at Olympic Fruit, also sees this as a natural step: “We have been operating in the European market for almost 25 years. That experience gives us the confidence to take this step.” 

For customers, there will be minimal change: most contacts will remain the same, only the company name will change to Olympic Fruit. In Olympic Fruit’s new organisational structure, Dick Donker will lead the combined trade/wholesale team, while Rob Bras will remain responsible for the other departments and will retain overall management. 

Responsibility for Freshpride will be transferred to Christian Schouten. Within Fruitful Ventures, Christian is already responsible for Hoofdman-Roodzant and will now broaden his portfolio to include the Middle East and Far East markets. 

The collaboration feels familiar for everyone involved. “We’ve been working at the same location in Barendrecht for years and often connect,” says Dick. “That’s truly the strength of our group: everyone has their own expertise, but together we serve the market better and grow faster.”