19040_NSFM-jan 2022_colorful_Compleet Spreads_LR
nonstop fresh/ magazine for the fresh produce sector January 2022 TIME TO SHOW COLOR! The most colorful magazine there is.
- Page 2: Dragon fruit (pitaya) The pink-skin
- Page 6: INDEX Dragon fruit like you’ve ne
- Page 10: PSYCHOLOGY OF COLOR 10OL Experienci
- Page 14: AARTSEN CLUB 9119 There’s no bett
- Page 18: At the design table with Frank van
- Page 22: Jaap: this leads to an interesting
- Page 26: AARTSEN TALENTS Age: 24 Lives in: E
- Page 30: MAMBA BRANDSTORY MAMBA PRODUCE OF A
- Page 34: PLANT BASED Jack meets Jack. Kaline
- Page 38: PLANT BASED Ongoing product develop
- Page 42: YOUNG TALENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT Looki
- Page 46: FRESH INNOVATION ‘Fresh will fina
- Page 50: ‘This was not the easiest choice,
nonstop<br />
fresh/<br />
magazine<br />
for the fresh<br />
produce sector<br />
January <strong>2022</strong><br />
TIME TO<br />
SHOW<br />
COLOR!<br />
The most <strong>colorful</strong> magazine there is.
Dragon fruit (pitaya)<br />
The pink-skinned dragon fruits have<br />
relatively little aroma. This is because<br />
the fruits are generally harvested too<br />
early in the countries of origin and the<br />
fruit does not ripen as with bananas.<br />
The yellow dragon fruit from Colombia,<br />
on the other hand, always tastes sweet.<br />
The taste is somewhat reminiscent of<br />
kiwi. The dragon fruits can be cut and<br />
spooned out.<br />
Also, the fruit can be peeled off and<br />
eaten accordingly. The seeds can be<br />
eaten. The seeds are appreciated by<br />
many when consuming the fruit.
COLOPHON<br />
JACK’S COLUMN<br />
nonstopfresh<br />
magazine is<br />
published by<br />
Aartsen Breda B.V.<br />
Heilaar-Noordweg 9<br />
4814 RR Breda<br />
PO Box 9555<br />
4801 LN Breda<br />
www.aartsen.com<br />
marketing@aartsen.com<br />
Time<br />
to show<br />
color.<br />
Editor in chief<br />
Jack Aartsen<br />
Editorial Board<br />
Martijn van der Zwalm<br />
Hans de Regt<br />
Lodewijk Varossieau<br />
Text<br />
Donuts for Chelsea,<br />
Stefan Verhaar<br />
Het Champagne Atelier,<br />
Natascha Droste<br />
Translation<br />
Metamorfose<br />
Vertalingen B.V.<br />
Photography<br />
Frank Poppelaars<br />
Welcome to our new nonstopfresh magazine,<br />
a better reflection of who we are today.<br />
All editors worked hard in recent months on<br />
this major update of our beautiful magazine.<br />
Interesting articles, beautiful images and<br />
a contemporary design.<br />
Happy reading!<br />
Design &<br />
realisation<br />
Just in Case Communicatie B.V.<br />
Breda<br />
www.jicc.nl<br />
SuperRebel B.V.<br />
Breda<br />
www.superrebel.com<br />
The cherry<br />
on the<br />
cake!<br />
‘Let’s get <strong>2022</strong> off to a good start.’ That’s our New Year’s<br />
resolution as editorial team and the reason why we evaluated<br />
our magazine at the end of 2021. In the 14 years we have been<br />
publishing the magazine, we have repeatedly reflected on our work,<br />
always taking a very critical look at ourselves. Are we still up to date?<br />
Are we interesting enough to our readers? Is the magazine still fun?<br />
Are we still contemporary, do we still stand out? Are we achieving<br />
our goals?<br />
How can we make our magazine even better? Our conclusion:<br />
it’s time to show our true colors! It could be better. It should be<br />
more of a magazine. The style should be a better reflection of what<br />
Aartsen stands for. It should be more <strong>colorful</strong>! The result is this new<br />
and updated nonstopfresh magazine.<br />
Many readers may not have been aware that we published the<br />
magazine in two languages (Dutch and English). However, to<br />
enhance our international profile, the magazine will from now on<br />
only be available in English. A minor adjustment for Dutch readers,<br />
but good for improving your English. We are entering the 15th year<br />
of our magazine with renewed energy, and hopefully it will also bring<br />
a little extra color to all of our readers.<br />
I would like to wish you a happy <strong>2022</strong>. With everything that’s going<br />
on, we really need each other just that little bit more at this time.<br />
It’s easy to lose touch with each other now, as there’s a lot we<br />
cannot do and not much we can do. But we should certainly not use<br />
the latter as an excuse. So let’s all pay more attention to each other.<br />
Just be a little bit nicer to each other. Stay in touch with people,<br />
take initiative. And whether it’s our personal or business relation,<br />
family or colleagues, it all starts with ourselves.<br />
A <strong>colorful</strong> edition in a <strong>colorful</strong> world of fruit and vegetables.<br />
For me, <strong>colorful</strong> stands for the people we work with and who get<br />
all this done. Every day, it’s fun to see how different all the people<br />
we’re dealing with are. I’m not talking about peoples’ skin color,<br />
of course; I’m color blind in that sense. But personalities, cultures,<br />
customs, values and norms that can be so different from each other<br />
are a huge challenge and at the same time a privilege that we<br />
experience every day. You can be <strong>colorful</strong> here, and this is where<br />
you can really stand out. Let’s all do our best this year to be that<br />
beautiful red cherry on the cake!<br />
Happy reading and best wishes for a fruitful New Year!<br />
Jack Aartsen<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 5
INDEX<br />
Dragon fruit<br />
like you’ve<br />
never seen<br />
before!<br />
Young talent<br />
42<br />
Carrots &<br />
Peas,<br />
like two<br />
peas in<br />
a pot.<br />
Young talent<br />
60<br />
34<br />
Jack meets Jack. club<br />
14<br />
9119<br />
Members only<br />
Index<br />
08 Psychology of color<br />
How does color influence your perception?<br />
30 Mamba brandstory<br />
The most <strong>colorful</strong> brand!<br />
32 Aartsen Kids Foundation<br />
We go the extra mile to make a child smile.<br />
41 Guest column<br />
Colorful comedy!<br />
46 Innovation<br />
A Fresh moment in <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
56 Aartsen puzzles<br />
How well do you know Aartsen?<br />
64 Food with Floortje<br />
Don’t be fooled!<br />
66 Business in Hong Kong<br />
Aartsen Asia takes flight.<br />
72 History<br />
Preservation of historical apple varieties.<br />
76 The world of Aartsen<br />
The latest news.<br />
80 Health<br />
Are you crazy?!<br />
84 Fresh new product<br />
What nonstopfresh stands for.<br />
87 Asia column<br />
A rainbow of colors in Asia.<br />
26<br />
Meet our junior<br />
trader Kelly<br />
Meeuwissen<br />
Woman<br />
power<br />
at<br />
Aartsen.<br />
18<br />
At the design table.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 6<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 7
PSYCHOLOGY OF COLOR<br />
Look at<br />
me, like<br />
me, eat<br />
me!<br />
So what’s the story<br />
with those colors?<br />
CWhat’s important to you when<br />
you buy a new car, sofa or coat?<br />
There’s a big chance that the<br />
color plays a big role in your<br />
decision, just like the hair color of<br />
your potential partner is important.<br />
A color can attract or repel.<br />
This happens in nature, too,<br />
and it’s exactly what happens<br />
with fruit and vegetables.<br />
That’s what we’ll talk about here.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 8<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 9
PSYCHOLOGY OF COLOR<br />
10OL<br />
Experiencing color<br />
17 million<br />
This all sounds a bit technical. Let’s make things more<br />
concrete by talking about how we experience color.<br />
On the one hand, things like personal interpretation,<br />
culture and context play an important role in determining<br />
which associations a color evokes. On the other hand,<br />
we also have shared experiences. We know this is the case,<br />
because marketing experts and designers consciously<br />
choose certain colors for certain moments.<br />
colors.<br />
After all, they know just how consumers respond or what<br />
feelings a certain color induces. Red, for instance, is a color<br />
that catches your eye and is ideal for quickly attracting<br />
attention. Green stands for life, growth and nature and<br />
creates a sense of calm in many people. Pink can have<br />
a calming effect as well. Orange is associated with fun,<br />
optimism and happiness. Blue radiates reliability and safety,<br />
but also distance. Purple represents style, luxury and riches.<br />
Grey doesn’t really express much. Black is both fashionable<br />
Let’s start with the basics. Color is a phenomenon you<br />
and inaccessible and is associated with both glamour and<br />
can’t overlook. The source of all color is the sun: you can’t<br />
fear, mourning and being cool.<br />
see any colors in the dark. When light hits a surface,<br />
your eyes and your brain team up to let you distinguish<br />
between 17 million different colors.<br />
In nature<br />
Which color your brain identifies, depends on the section of<br />
the color spectrum that is reflected by the surface that the<br />
So these are the general impressions and meanings of color.<br />
light hits. This, in turn, depends on the material of the<br />
This raises the following question: what role does color<br />
surface that’s being illuminated (see * page 13).<br />
play in nature? Nature always prefers function over form.<br />
Generally speaking, it means that plants and animals have<br />
either a striking color or a protective color.<br />
A protective or concealing color ensures that a plant or<br />
animal is not noticed by enemies. A bright color warns<br />
that the species might be poisonous or helps to attract the<br />
opposite sex. Many male animals are extra good-looking<br />
and <strong>colorful</strong> in order to attract females.<br />
Colorful plants attract insects and other animals. If the<br />
berries of a plant need to be spread around by animals for<br />
the purpose of reproduction, then it makes sense for the<br />
berries to be visually striking, so that insects or birds can<br />
find them more easily. Red berries among green leaves have<br />
this effect.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | <strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 11
PSYCHOLOGY OF COLOR<br />
Colors,<br />
where<br />
do they<br />
come<br />
from?<br />
How do fruit and vegetables actually get the colors<br />
they have? The presence of pigments is a major factor.<br />
Let’s look more closely at two: chlorophyll and anthocyanin.<br />
The former creates a green color, the latter a red color.<br />
Each product has a basic color, which for many fruits and<br />
vegetables is naturally green. As they ripen, they often<br />
turn yellow. The best-known example here is probably the<br />
banana: bananas gradually change from green to yellow as<br />
they ripen. Strawberries, too, start off green and then turn<br />
red as they ripen. The green pigment chlorophyll disappears<br />
and is replaced by the red pigment anthocyanin.<br />
White vegetables, such as chicory, mushrooms and white<br />
asparagus, grow in the dark and so they remain white.<br />
Green asparagus is actually white asparagus, too. If you<br />
don’t keep white asparagus under a layer of earth, the<br />
chlorophyll turns green due to the influence of the sun.<br />
Talking of white: a cauliflower is ringed by leaves that protect<br />
the florets against sunlight. If the sun could shine directly on<br />
the cauliflower, it would turn yellowish. In fact, a cauliflower<br />
can even take on a purple glow if it contains traces of<br />
anthocyanin (which is found in varieties of cabbage).<br />
This happens particularly when daytime and night-time<br />
temperatures are close together. Under these conditions,<br />
the pigment anthocyanin becomes active and quickly colors<br />
the vegetable. By the way, this variety shouldn’t be confused<br />
with cauliflower varieties that have a deep purple color,<br />
because these have been specially cultivated.<br />
Here’s another striking fact: an apple that grows in the<br />
shadow of a leaf will not take on its normal full color,<br />
because this requires sunlight. This is also true of<br />
cucumbers that are covered by a large cucumber leaf: the<br />
cucumber will be yellowish on the shadow side. However,<br />
this doesn’t<br />
affect the taste.<br />
Let’s return to the yellow ripe banana. If a ripe banana is<br />
squashed or bruised, the fruit will very quickly turn brown.<br />
This happens because external pressure destroys cells<br />
in the banana. In combination with oxygen, this leads to<br />
a brown discoloration. This process, which can also be<br />
caused by ageing, occurs in various species.<br />
*<br />
Colors on display<br />
Bananas that have turned brown are fine to eat. For many<br />
people, they are actually a delicacy, recognisable thanks<br />
to the color. Another proof that color matters. Fruit and<br />
vegetables put their colors on display for all to see. They call<br />
out for attention, want you to enjoy them and strive for you<br />
to keep choosing them. A red berry on a plant, a ripe orange<br />
in the orchard and a bright red apple on a market stall all do<br />
the same: they shout out ‘Look at me, like me, eat me!’<br />
Why do we see<br />
a plant’s leaves<br />
as green?<br />
Leaves contain the pigment chlorophyll, which plants and<br />
trees use to capture light and energy. They need this to carry<br />
out photosynthesis (in order to obtain oxygen and sugar).<br />
Only the green part of light is reflected by chlorophyll,<br />
which is the part the plants need least for photosynthesis.<br />
This is the only part of light that our eyes and brain perceive.<br />
Red, orange and blue (the other colors of the spectrum)<br />
are absorbed by the leaf or pass straight through the leaf,<br />
so they are not reflected. This is why we see leaves<br />
as green.<br />
R<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 13<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 12
AARTSEN CLUB 9119<br />
There’s no better<br />
club than this.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 14<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 15
AARTSEN CLUB 9119<br />
Incredibly proud of<br />
our champs.<br />
We don’t like to pat ourselves on the back, but this is too much fun not to share.<br />
In the autumn, we set up Club 9119: the club of people who have been working at<br />
Aartsen for more than 25 years. The name comes from the approximate number<br />
of days in 25 years.<br />
We do everything we can to help our colleagues grow. This is why we have<br />
10 employees who celebrated their 25th anniversary over the past year.<br />
We are incredibly proud of these stars of ours. They have lived and breathed<br />
the nonstopfresh mentality for 25 years and form part of the core that makes<br />
us so strong.<br />
We recently celebrated the launch of Club 9119 in style.<br />
On 3 November 2021, all of these people started an ordinary<br />
working day that turned out not to be so ordinary after all.<br />
All of a sudden, they were asked to come along ‘for a<br />
moment’. They all went to the Breda branch. Completely<br />
surprised. From Breda, the group – including Jack Aartsen<br />
(who has also spent over 25 years at Aartsen) – flew by<br />
helicopter to Rockanje beach. The helicopter flight was a<br />
little overwhelming and stressful, but in the end all the<br />
members of the club enjoyed this special experience.<br />
Everything had been thought of: a cool jacket, a certificate<br />
and a customised gift. In an atmospheric location, a glass was<br />
raised to everyone’s anniversary and the launch of Club 9119.<br />
It was a wonderful day with a delicious lunch, personal<br />
speeches and lots of fun. It goes without saying that plenty of<br />
great memories were shared and new memories were created.<br />
At Aartsen, not only do we focus on future colleagues,<br />
we also do everything we can to keep good people in the<br />
club for as long as possible. Club 9119 is a good example of<br />
this. Colleagues who have been employed for over 25 years<br />
naturally also belong in the club, which is why Club 9119<br />
has 26 members already.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 16 <strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 17
At the design table<br />
with Frank van der<br />
Velden & Jaap Bekkers.<br />
BUSINESS IN BELGIUM<br />
Behind the scenes, we are busy creating a<br />
new branch of Aartsen in St. Katelijne-Waver<br />
in Belgium.<br />
In this new construction project, future-proof<br />
construction plays a central role and we are<br />
also working on the creation of Aartsen 2.0.<br />
Jaap Bekkers<br />
Operational director Frank van der Velden<br />
and architect Jaap Bekkers got together to<br />
discuss this extensive new building project…<br />
Frank van der Velden<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 18<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 19
BUSINESS IN BELGIUM<br />
CV<br />
Frank van der Velden has worked as the operational director<br />
of Aartsen for 21 years.<br />
Since obtaining a diploma in Business Administration from a<br />
school for higher education in economics and management,<br />
Frank has been involved in eight new construction projects<br />
for Aartsen.<br />
In 2004, it was the warehouse and cash & carry in Breda.<br />
In 2006, the office in Breda.<br />
2008 saw the expansion of Frugro.<br />
In 2011, there was the new building in Venlo.<br />
In 2018, Venlo phase 2.<br />
And in 2019, the office in Breda and the renovation of the farm.<br />
In 2020, Frank was brought on board as a coordinator for the<br />
new building in St. Katelijne-Waver in Belgium. In collaboration<br />
with the construction team, he is trying to achieve the best<br />
possible result.<br />
Jaap Bekkers is architect-director at Grosfeld Bekkers van<br />
der Velde Architecten.<br />
After successfully completing his Architecture degree at<br />
Eindhoven University of Technology, Jaap started his career<br />
as an architect in 2005.<br />
Jaap has been involved in six new construction projects for<br />
Aartsen. In 2005, he designed the head office and the<br />
expansion of the warehouses in Breda. He then turned<br />
his design talent to the branches in Venlo and<br />
St. Katelijne-Waver.<br />
Jaap: Aartsen is growing enormously.<br />
Is this why we are now sitting around the<br />
table for the design of the new building in<br />
St. Katelijne-Waver, Frank?<br />
Frank: you could see it that way, yes. In 2008, in connection<br />
with the expansion of the former premises in St. Katelijne-Waver,<br />
we already started using the plot to the full. In order to be able<br />
to continue growing, we started looking for a new plot in the<br />
surrounding area. The location is excellent: in Belgium,<br />
St. Katelijne-Waver is the heart of the fruit and vegetable sector.<br />
The fruit and vegetable auction is there too, which is very<br />
important. A new industrial development was being built,<br />
where we opted for a plot of around 25,000 square metres.<br />
We first conducted preliminary research into various plots and<br />
have now found the best plot in the most visible location,<br />
right next to the entrance to the industrial estate.<br />
On the way to the auction, you have to pass Aartsen. If you go<br />
to all kinds of fruit and vegetable-related companies, you will<br />
also pass Aartsen. You simply can’t miss it!<br />
‘Aartsen has a<br />
very specific<br />
business process’<br />
Jaap: it's at the roundabout, isn't it?<br />
And the interesting thing about a roundabout is that it slows<br />
down the flow of traffic, which means that you can see the<br />
building more easily. The adjacent highway is also a little<br />
higher up, so you can see the building right away. This is the<br />
entrance to the estate, so it’s perfect in terms of recognition.<br />
Aartsen has a very specific business process. They know<br />
exactly what a building needs and how they want to work<br />
in it. The company building consists of various departments,<br />
including a warehouse, cash & carry and office. The trick lies<br />
in interconnecting these departments in such a way that, on<br />
the one hand, the logistics and work processes make sense<br />
and, on the other, optimal use can be made of the plot in St.<br />
Katelijne-Waver. You can actually see that the sales and<br />
storage warehouses here are connected to each other in a<br />
different way than in Breda or Venlo. Right, Frank?<br />
Frank: there are actually three buildings. We need a<br />
warehouse with cold stores where goods come in, are stored<br />
and go out again. We also need a cash & carry where<br />
customers can visit, where we display products and where<br />
customers can take these products away with them, and we<br />
need an office. There are two important prerequisites:<br />
a manager must have an overview of their processes, so their<br />
office must be right next to the large warehouse where all the<br />
work goes on, and sellers must have an overview of the cash &<br />
carry, because this is where their customers can be found.<br />
The areas for improvement at the Breda and Venlo branches<br />
will be taken into account in the new Katelijne building.<br />
You always try to make things as good as they can be and<br />
continue to improve as a company.<br />
‘How can we<br />
create the most<br />
economical building<br />
possible?’<br />
Since 2016, he has been involved in various plans for the<br />
branches in Breda and Belgium and the design for the new<br />
head office. The initial sketches for this new construction<br />
project date from early 2020. As an architect, Jaap is<br />
responsible for the architectural and structural design.<br />
He monitors the integrity of the process and fulfils the role<br />
of team player.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 20<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 21
Jaap: this leads to an interesting story.<br />
Aartsen came up with the question: ‘How can we create the<br />
most economical building possible?’ Even during the initial<br />
discussions, we asked ourselves all kinds of questions: how<br />
can we achieve this simplicity? How can we achieve<br />
the economical aspect? How can we make the building as<br />
simple as possible? We came to the conclusion that, based<br />
on our own knowledge and experience of the processes<br />
within Aartsen, we know very well how to set up and build a<br />
decent building, but to achieve the best possible result, we<br />
should seek advice from specialists in certain areas.<br />
These people know down to the smallest detail how<br />
specific construction processes and methods work at the<br />
implementation level. From the design phase onwards, we<br />
are already putting our heads together to think about how<br />
we can make the building as efficient as possible.<br />
Efficiency also involves thinking about energy saving<br />
measures that give the building an extra dimension. This<br />
is reverse engineering, as it were. Normally speaking, we<br />
would first elaborate a plan in full and then ask various<br />
contractors to come up with a price, after which the work is<br />
tendered out. This time, we have pushed this element to the<br />
front. The first thing we developed, so to speak, was the most<br />
efficient steel structure imaginable. It’s precisely the<br />
opposite way around: the architecture and the appearance<br />
of the building mainly stem from the way you make it.<br />
We have already noticed that this is leading to something<br />
that will be unique and special, but at the same time super<br />
efficient and economical.<br />
Frank: involving other parties who can view the project from<br />
a different perspective allows you to reach different insights.<br />
Interestingly enough, some things are absolutely a no-go for us,<br />
but if other parties can argue what it will bring us or save us,<br />
then it may be worth discussing internally.<br />
One good example of this is the columns: these were a<br />
no-go for us. Forklifts drive around in the warehouse, people are<br />
constantly on the move and every column is actually in the<br />
way. During the discussions, the construction parties indicated<br />
that you can reduce your steel costs considerably by installing<br />
a few columns.<br />
Jaap: the interesting fact is that these kinds of parties<br />
can link a sum of money to it, and we can link an image.<br />
We were inspired by the idea: why not put columns there?<br />
It provides inspiration that can be very interesting: we will<br />
create an indoor marketplace!<br />
‘If you can recreate<br />
the atmosphere<br />
of a market in the<br />
building, you will<br />
make yourself<br />
unique’<br />
Frank: TADA! Here’s the design sketch. This is an example of a<br />
market hall in Antwerp. You can see that the roof is supported<br />
by very thin columns. Normally, only large columns can carry a<br />
roof, but because you are choosing fine columns and placing<br />
several in a row, you need less steel to make the span. And if<br />
you can recreate the atmosphere of a market in the building,<br />
which no one in the industry is doing but which ties in perfectly<br />
with the fruit and veg, then you can make yourself unique.<br />
Jaap: it’s very inspiring for these ideas to come together<br />
during the discussions. A client might say in the first<br />
instance: we’re not going to have columns.<br />
An implementation consultant might then say: but if you<br />
install columns, you will save a lot of money, and we might<br />
think: it will give us something that will contribute to how<br />
people will experience the building. The client will then<br />
challenge its starting points in order to finally conclude that<br />
it's not actually such a crazy idea after all. The resulting<br />
interaction is very inspiring and really fires us up.<br />
Frank: w hat's great is that this allows you to get input from all<br />
kinds of disciplines. What kind of technology should there be in<br />
a building like this? So far, the sustainability aspect has never<br />
played a decisive role with us, because it always went hand in<br />
hand with very long payback periods. But when you are going<br />
to create new buildings, and energy is only getting more<br />
expensive, you have to take everything into account and<br />
question it. Renewable energy in the form of solar panels.<br />
The insulation values of the building. When we talk about the<br />
ways in which you could earn this back, the wildest ideas come<br />
up. An example is the construction of wells to bring up water<br />
from a very long way down. You can use this cold water to cool<br />
the cooling systems. The cold water that passes through the<br />
cooling systems will warm up, and you can then use this water<br />
for heating inside the building.<br />
Jaap: we also called in an energy expert,<br />
who advised us to minimise the number of square metres in<br />
the building. The smaller the area, the less energy is required<br />
to keep the building at the right temperature. Ultimately,<br />
we came up with a design in which we literally made<br />
the building smaller. We also had an interesting internal<br />
discussion: will we lower the height of the building where<br />
extra cooling is required even further and save more, or will<br />
we maintain the same heights everywhere and increase its<br />
potential marketability in the longer term? This is also related<br />
to the sustainability aspect. You can make something very<br />
specific, but you can also consciously opt for such a hugely<br />
clear structure and such a large degree of simplicity that<br />
the level of marketability and therefore the value of your<br />
property are high in the long term.<br />
Frank: imagine if we come to the conclusion in 15 years' time<br />
that it is too small. We will have created a super clear structure<br />
that anyone could move forward in. That would be ideal! The<br />
experts who are currently involved are not familiar with Aartsen,<br />
so they find it much easier to ask the ‘why’ question.<br />
For example, we had a discussion about fire safety. In Belgium,<br />
the rules are a lot stricter than in the Netherlands. For example,<br />
the building must be equipped with smoke hatches. On the<br />
one hand, you want to insulate the building as much as<br />
possible, and on the other, every smoke hatch is a hole, has an<br />
effect on your insulation value and therefore your energy<br />
consumption.<br />
‘We will not be<br />
taken hostage<br />
by conventions<br />
or prejudices‘<br />
BUSINESS IN BELGIUM<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 22<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 23
BUSINESS IN BELGIUM<br />
Jaap: the bottom line is having the courage to question<br />
everything. We don’t simply accept anything as true.<br />
We’re constantly looking for the simplest and most optimal<br />
solution for the question at hand. We don’t see any<br />
limitations in the process. If there is a problem or a question,<br />
we will solve it together. We will not be taken hostage by<br />
conventions or prejudices. When you do this, you reach very<br />
pure, honest and usually good solutions. From the outside,<br />
it might look as if you’re just building a warehouse,<br />
but there's such an incredible story behind it. This will soon<br />
extend to the level of the interior design and color schemes.<br />
These kinds of processes make you really happy, which is<br />
incredibly inspiring.<br />
Frank: it also makes you enthusiastic, which gives you<br />
positive energy!<br />
Jaap: what I find characteristic, Frank, is that we have the<br />
courage to wait before making decisions. Architects always<br />
have the urge to grab their pen and design something<br />
beautiful, but together, we have the courage to wait until<br />
all the frameworks are known. After all, the frameworks will<br />
influence the architectural design, so something that is<br />
rooted in the entire process will emerge.<br />
Frank: the office block is a good example of this.<br />
We know how we are going to build it, but we don’t yet know<br />
who will sit where and how the rooms will be designed exactly.<br />
Staff are becoming increasingly important – retaining people<br />
in your organisation, offering something extra.<br />
Traditionally, we always include a staff room. But what about a<br />
fitness room? Or an outside garden? It didn’t fit into the current<br />
design, and so we went from one to three floors for the office<br />
block in no time. You can add another floor, but you can also<br />
put in a basement.<br />
This is the challenge we will be facing together in the coming<br />
period. What would be better and would fit in with our mission<br />
to build a super economical building: adding a basement or<br />
putting another floor on top?<br />
Jaap: these are the kinds of things we are working on! Once<br />
every two weeks, we meet with the team and discuss where<br />
we stand. Aartsen expressly wishes to keep up the pace<br />
of the process. The simpler you make it, the better you<br />
prepare it, the more efficiently and quickly you can build it,<br />
the sooner a contractor will come on board for a fair price.<br />
Frank: I only have one more ambition at this point, which is for<br />
us to be in the building in December <strong>2022</strong>!<br />
‘What I find<br />
characteristic, Frank,<br />
is that we have the<br />
courage to wait<br />
before making<br />
decisions’<br />
MAKE YOUR HEALTHY<br />
irresistible<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 24
AARTSEN TALENTS<br />
Age: 24<br />
Lives in: Etten-Leur<br />
Born in: Bavel<br />
In a relationship: Yes<br />
Guilty pleasure: Disco (lots of 70s music)<br />
Tastiest cocktail: Strawberry Daiquiri<br />
Favourite snack: Hot Cheetos<br />
Best Netflix series: Clickbait, Bodyguard and When they see us<br />
Who we should follow on Instagram or Tiktok: Moustafa Makhlouf<br />
Biggest bad buy: Don’t really have one…<br />
Finest city: Rome<br />
Favourite clothing brand: Josh V and Abercrombie & Fitch<br />
What dish do you like cooking the most: Lasagne and other Italian dishes<br />
Proud of: My family – sounds very cheesy but it’s really true<br />
Favourite fruit: Mango<br />
Woman<br />
power at<br />
Aartsen!Aartsen is bursting with talent.<br />
And one of these talented people<br />
is junior trader Kelly Meeuwissen.<br />
What does she do, and how does<br />
Kelly feel about working at Aartsen?<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 26<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 27
AARTSEN TALENTS<br />
What does your job as junior trader involve?<br />
‘It’s a training position with a mix of sales and buying.<br />
My focus in the buying department is South Africa,<br />
where we do a lot of trading under our Mamba brand.’<br />
Well, I heard you do more, too. ‘That’s true.<br />
Besides my commercial tasks I’m key user for<br />
several modules in Fresh, our new ERP system.<br />
That means I provide Fresh training sessions for my<br />
colleagues. I belong to the young guard and we<br />
often learn from the old guard. In this case it’s really<br />
nice that I can teach them something about Fresh.’<br />
You’ve been working at Aartsen for two years now.<br />
What did you do before? ‘Before I started work<br />
at Aartsen I was still studying. In this period<br />
I combined my studies in Global Law at Tilburg<br />
University with a job as customer care officer at<br />
ABN AMRO Bank.’ Have you finished your studies<br />
yet? ‘Almost. Currently I’m in the final year: I still<br />
need to complete a few courses.’ Your job as junior<br />
trader doesn’t really seem an obvious step to<br />
follow your studies. How did you come to work at<br />
Aartsen? ‘The majority of my family has worked in the<br />
potatoes, vegetables and fruit sector, with their own<br />
stores and at markets. I helped out sometimes,<br />
of course, and as a result I sometimes already visited<br />
Aartsen to buy fruit and vegetables. There came a<br />
time when I needed to take a few more courses to<br />
graduate, but I had to wait until the following<br />
semester. That’s when I decided to start working<br />
full-time parallel to my studies, because I like to be<br />
busy. I heard from my family that Aartsen was looking<br />
for commercial talent and so I immediately<br />
contacted the company. And then things were sorted<br />
pretty quickly.’What made you choose Aartsen as<br />
an employer? ‘Right from the start,<br />
I really liked the atmosphere at Aartsen. It’s nice to<br />
work in a male world and everyone is ready to help<br />
everyone else. I realised this when I was job shadowing<br />
for a day, as part of the training process. It’s a really<br />
nice company and at Aartsen you get plenty of<br />
space to develop your abilities.’ You say you like<br />
working in a male environment, but how do you<br />
hold your ground amidst all those men?<br />
‘Actually that’s really easy. When men communicate<br />
with each other they’re nice and direct, often brief<br />
and to the point. That suits me just great, because<br />
it’s how I am, too. But I think that women have a<br />
different vision of certain processes and this can<br />
certainly bring added value. Moreover, women make<br />
a positive contribution to the atmosphere, of course.<br />
More and more women are joining Aartsen and it<br />
would be nice if these numbers keep growing.’<br />
Why do you think you can grow as a talent at<br />
Aartsen? ‘I find it difficult to say that I’m a talent,<br />
because we all get things done together here.<br />
Everyone wants to help you, and we’re really strong<br />
as a team. Everyone here realises that you need<br />
both experience and fresh ideas. What’s more,<br />
I think it’s important to have a tailor-made personal<br />
development plan – one that gives you the freedom<br />
to set your own development course and speed.’<br />
You’ll soon have completed your studies.<br />
What are your goals? ‘Of course I’ll complete my<br />
studies, but I know for sure that I won’t be working in<br />
the legal sector. However, I haven’t charted a clear<br />
route for yourself. When opportunities arise on my<br />
path, then I’ll surely seize them. But first I really want to<br />
get to grips with South Africa. Besides this, I hope to<br />
continue as a Fresh key user for a long time,<br />
because that makes my work interesting and it’s fun<br />
to be involved in new developments at an early<br />
stage.’ Why would you advise other talents to<br />
choose Aartsen? ‘Together we’ve got a strong<br />
“one team, one task” ethos and that creates the<br />
right spirit. There’s a good mix of experience and<br />
young talent. Moreover, there’s a really good working<br />
atmosphere, there’s space for innovation and<br />
people listen to you, even if you’re new.<br />
Aartsen is a big company, but still small enough for<br />
people to know each other. The company’s growing<br />
fast and so it offers its staff plenty of potential.’<br />
Okay, you’ve told us about all that work. What do<br />
you do to relax? ‘I really like sports. I always have<br />
one training session a week guided by a trainer at<br />
Aartsen. In addition I try to visit the gym by myself<br />
twice a week. And at the weekend, to clear my head,<br />
I always go for a run of about 10 kilometres in the<br />
(Mastbos or Markdal) nature areas in Breda.’<br />
Are you a bit of a health freak then? ‘No way,<br />
I like to be among people and I like looking for nice<br />
places together with friends, to have a drink and<br />
good food. Good places for that are in Breda city<br />
centre and Het Houtse Meer restaurant. That’s my<br />
favourite place – it’s a great location for meeting up<br />
with the girls.’<br />
Totally Kelly!<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 28<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 29
MAMBA BRANDSTORY<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
MAMBA<br />
MAMBA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
Get<br />
ready<br />
for a<br />
riot of<br />
color!<br />
For many years, Aartsen has been importing the tastiest fruit and<br />
vegetables Africa has to offer under the brand name MAMBA.<br />
Our current logo certainly catches the eye with its solid capitals<br />
and slick design, but we have given it an update. We are keeping<br />
the trademark capitals, but we’ve given our logo a <strong>colorful</strong> twist.<br />
Striking color palette<br />
For our restyled logo, we have put together a broad palette of colors<br />
that together express the spirit of MAMBA and Africa. Truly a riot of color!<br />
This new look makes MAMBA even more distinctive. Within this palette,<br />
every product group will have its own color. This will make each of the<br />
groups stand out more. Alongside is an overview of the color combinations<br />
we are going to use. When we add new product groups to the MAMBA<br />
range, we will obviously add further colors to the palette.<br />
Launch in early <strong>2022</strong><br />
Together with our MAMBA partners, we will roll out the new color palette<br />
gradually. We will obviously use up our current stock of MAMBA packaging<br />
before we start using the new colored boxes. However, we can already<br />
announce that the first products in the restyled packaging will be available<br />
early <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
Be prepared!<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
MAMBA<br />
MAMBA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
MAMBA<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 30<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 31
AARTSEN KIDS FOUNDATION<br />
Ha ppy<br />
We go the extra<br />
mile to make a<br />
child smile.<br />
birt<br />
hd ay.<br />
Every child's birthday<br />
should be a party<br />
Due to various circumstances, not every<br />
parent is able to give their children a birthday<br />
party. That made us at Aartsen sad, so we’ve<br />
arranged a careful selection of fun package<br />
deals especially for these children, with all<br />
expenses paid. This way, every child is able<br />
to throw a party on their birthday.<br />
Yet another great idea from the good people<br />
at Aartsen Kids Foundation.<br />
To find out more, visit:<br />
aartsenkidsfoundation.com<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 32<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 33
PLANT BASED<br />
Jack<br />
meets<br />
Jack.<br />
Kaline van Halder<br />
At the end of 2021, Kaline van Halder and Marjolein<br />
Pleune – the founders of Meet Jack – paid a visit to<br />
Aartsen. It was an inspiring afternoon, and Kaline felt like<br />
she was featuring in an episode of Het Klokhuis,<br />
the Dutch educational TV show – she learned so much.<br />
It was literally a case of Jack meets Meet Jack.<br />
Marjolein Pleune<br />
Dutch start-up fed by ambition<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 34<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 35
PLANT BASED<br />
We’re<br />
talking<br />
about…<br />
jackfruit!<br />
Jack Aartsen was naturally curious about his ‘namesake’ and<br />
very interested in the emergence and growth of this start-up<br />
focusing completely on jackfruit. And there is no doubt he<br />
also identified with Marjolein and Kaline’s ambition and drive.<br />
Meet Jack produces and sells products based on unripe<br />
jackfruit, as this has a meaty texture. They import deep-frozen<br />
jackfruit chunks that chefs can use to prepare great dishes,<br />
and they also create ready-made plant-based products and<br />
meal components.<br />
Inspirers, not activists<br />
The Meet Jack brand is all about Jack. Jack is adventurous,<br />
travels the world, does cool things and inspires people.<br />
Meet Jack focuses primarily on the food service industry,<br />
but is now also considering conquering the supermarket<br />
shelves. Meet Jack’s target group is flexitarians, people who<br />
are keen on eating less meat. Meet Jack wants to offer a<br />
delicious alternative. Jackfruit is a great plant-based product<br />
that tastes just as good and can be as ‘meaty’ as the real<br />
thing. But Meet Jack doesn’t pit itself against meat. Marjolein<br />
and Kaline deliberately stay away from activism. Meet Jack<br />
aims to inspire. And it’s working. Even in the meat sector,<br />
producers are becoming increasingly aware of the need to<br />
cater to the growing demand for plant-based alternatives.<br />
Launch of Meet Jack<br />
It can weigh up to 35 kilos.<br />
It grows on a tree,<br />
with each tree providing up<br />
to 200 fruits per year. It can<br />
be eaten both ripe and<br />
unripe. It’s sustainable.<br />
It’s conquering the world.<br />
Kaline is half Dutch, half Filipino and was born in the<br />
Philippines, where she grew up with a jackfruit tree in the<br />
backyard. She only knew jackfruit as a sweet fruit, and did<br />
not learn about the possibilities of unripe jackfruit since 2017.<br />
During the BioFach trade fair in Nuremberg, Kaline discovered<br />
a German start-up that prepared dishes with jackfruit.<br />
The use of unripe jackfruit pieces as shredded meat was an<br />
eye opener for her. This is a plant-based alternative to meat.<br />
Kaline travelled to the Philippines almost immediately,<br />
wrote a business plan while she was there, and researched<br />
the possibilities for importing jackfruit into the Netherlands.<br />
When the opportunity arose to participate in an acceleration<br />
programme in the Netherlands, she brought Marjolein,<br />
her friend from university, on board. Meet Jack was born.<br />
Although the entrepreneurial friends had no experience in the<br />
food industry, they jumped into the deep end with confidence<br />
and enthusiasm. They have built a brand by trial and error.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 36<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 37
PLANT BASED<br />
Ongoing product development<br />
Although Meet Jack cannot compete with global brands in<br />
terms of budget, the brand is more agile and inventive.<br />
Small players in a market can innovate and innovation is a<br />
strength, which certainly applies to Meet Jack. For this<br />
reason, in collaboration with producers and potential clients,<br />
they are constantly working on product development.<br />
Meet Jack can introduce new products very quickly,<br />
which sets it apart from the establishment. They take their<br />
cues from market trends, and of course the culinary creative<br />
team of Meet Jack is well aware of the endless possibilities of<br />
jackfruit. The brand currently offers a wide range of products,<br />
including curries, rendang and gyros, as well as meatballs<br />
and croquettes. All vegan.<br />
If you want to go fast, you go alone.<br />
If you want to go further, you go together.<br />
Working together on the fruit for<br />
meat lovers!<br />
Sustainable ambitions<br />
Kaline and Marjolein are busy building the Meet Jack brand<br />
and increasing customer loyalty. They also want to do<br />
business sustainably by helping local farmers in the<br />
Philippines and supporting the local economy.<br />
Sustainability is an important issue, and jackfruit does well in<br />
this area due to the natural way jackfruit grows. It’s a jungle<br />
crop, which means it doesn’t need anything extra to grow.<br />
No irrigation, no added nutrients, no pesticides, hardly any<br />
water used. And the more you pick, the more the tree<br />
produces. Furthermore, the production of jackfruit does not<br />
cause deforestation. On the contrary, jackfruit actually<br />
encourages reforestation.<br />
Alongside its sustainable goals, Meet Jack also has growth<br />
ambitions. To be able to grow, the brand needs to increase its<br />
financial leverage. Marjolein and Kaline are convinced of their<br />
mission, brand and product, and are looking for investors who<br />
feel the same way and can give Meet Jack a boost. Based on<br />
the following principles: If you want to go fast, you go alone.<br />
If you want to go further, you go together. Working together<br />
on the fruit for meat lovers!<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 38<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 39
New logo, same brand, same quality.<br />
Colors on<br />
display.<br />
‘You really should eat more blackberries<br />
and blueberries. They’re good for you!’ says<br />
my mother when I drop by to see her the<br />
other day. ‘I read it in a magazine from the<br />
supermarket.’ Unfortunately she’s forgotten<br />
just why they’re supposed to be good.<br />
So I find the magazine and read that fruit<br />
with a purple or blue color contains lots of<br />
anthocyanins that help prevent dementia<br />
and forgetfulness. ‘Might be a good idea if<br />
you fetch a few cartons of blackberries and<br />
blueberries for yourself this afternoon,’ I say<br />
with a cynical undertone.<br />
GUEST COLUMN<br />
When I call her the next day and ask if she<br />
got round to visiting the supermarket, she<br />
says she did. Thing is, she forgot to buy the<br />
blackberries and blueberries.<br />
Luckily she bought a bag of sweet potatoes<br />
and mandarins instead. ‘And orange<br />
vegetables and fruit contain lots of betacarotene,<br />
and that’s good for your immune<br />
system. So I’ve got plenty of energy to pop<br />
back to the shops again. Hahaha.’<br />
‘Maybe you should write a shopping list<br />
before you do that, Mum. Otherwise you’ll<br />
forget the blackberries and blueberries<br />
again this afternoon. Because you don’t<br />
eat enough berries,’ I joke. Indignant<br />
noises at the other end of the line. ‘Not so<br />
cheeky, Rob, I did write a list.’ ‘So then<br />
why did you forget to buy blackberries and<br />
blueberries?’ I ask. ‘I forgot my glasses,<br />
so I couldn’t read the list.’ I sigh. ‘So what<br />
did you buy?’ I ask her. ‘Carrots. I can’t<br />
actually remember just why I went to the<br />
shops, but carrots have got lots of lutein<br />
and zeaxanthin and that’s good for your<br />
eyes. So next time I’ll be able to read my<br />
shopping list again.’ In that case, I suggest,<br />
she should immediately snack a few<br />
carrots. ‘I’d love to, but I’ve forgotten where<br />
I put them,’ answers my mother.<br />
The right selection of products in perfect packaging ensures unique and highquality products.<br />
Ginger, lime grass, baby corn, pointed asparagus, dragon fruit, nashi pears, carambola,<br />
pomelo, coconut, passion fruit, tumeric, galangal and okra.<br />
That's Yami.<br />
Of course, this story isn’t literally true, but it<br />
could have happened like that. The palette<br />
of colors on your plate each day really<br />
does ensure that this rainbow shines in<br />
your body as well. Eat <strong>colorful</strong>ly, and you’ll<br />
automatically live <strong>colorful</strong>ly, too. Purple<br />
and blue, for instance, help to keep you<br />
calm and balanced. Red supports a healthy<br />
complexion. With orange you don’t need<br />
to spend a fortune on vitamin pills. Just<br />
remember that this color coding doesn’t<br />
work if the purple/blue color appears in<br />
things like sweet peppers and bread.<br />
Then it’s some kind of mould – and the<br />
color blue will, above all, get your intestines<br />
working double-overtime. And efficient<br />
discharge of waste products is a job you<br />
can happily leave to green vegetables such<br />
as spinach and kale.<br />
Rob Scheepers is a comedian who makes<br />
both theater and television shows.<br />
Rob is also a ‘tonpraoter’ (a comedy style<br />
at Dutch carnival), a fanatic Twitter user and<br />
columnist for magazines and radio shows.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 41
YOUNG TALENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT<br />
Looking for the<br />
most creative<br />
dragon fruit<br />
picture.<br />
During each editorial meeting, we take a critical look at<br />
nonstopfresh magazine. This constructively critical approach<br />
helps us to keep each other focused and surprise our readers<br />
in every edition. This leads to new ideas and impulses.<br />
During the previous editorial meeting, I suggested working<br />
with young and talented photographers for our magazine.<br />
I know from experience how difficult it is to get these types of<br />
assignments. Earning your place at the table, particularly if<br />
you have just left the protective environment of your degree<br />
programme, can be very difficult. Which makes it all the better<br />
if you are given a helping hand, and a platform. This ties in<br />
perfectly with Aartsen’s ‘grow’ concept. After all, Aartsen aims<br />
to grow together with the very best partners, suppliers,<br />
products and employees. With that in mind, I went looking for<br />
a photographer who could take a creative photo of dragon<br />
fruit in the context of our ‘<strong>colorful</strong>’ theme. This led me<br />
to Sifra Kuipers, via a lecturer from St Joost School of<br />
Art & Design in Breda. Sifra is a young and ambitious<br />
photographer who was keen to take on the challenge.<br />
Sifra, fellow student Ids van den Booren and I discussed the<br />
image in depth beforehand. She was given the freedom to<br />
surprise the editors, staying within the context of the theme.<br />
To optimise the image and to give Sifra confidence,<br />
we refined the material together in the studio of the<br />
School of Art & Design where necessary. Both images are<br />
genuine works of art and have given the editors renewed<br />
energy for the upcoming magazines!<br />
Sifra told me that she felt the assignment was very instructive,<br />
and she gained a great deal of inspiration. It has strengthened<br />
her resolve to achieve her ambitions. Firstly, she intends to<br />
graduate in <strong>2022</strong> and also aims to grow her own company.<br />
She would like to have her own studio where she can take<br />
photographs and organise relevant events. This ambitious<br />
young talent wants to do commercial work and also help<br />
people with design projects. We hope that the platform of<br />
nonstopfresh magazine will help her to achieve her ambitions!<br />
Frank Poppelaars - photographer<br />
We went through the whole process together, from drawing up<br />
the quotation to the final image. Sifra found the project to be<br />
very positive. She does not normally do studio photography,<br />
so experimenting with fruit and color in a studio certainly<br />
meant stepping outside of her comfort zone for a while.<br />
It really appealed to her creativity. At college she does a lot<br />
of work in the social design arena, which involves genuinely<br />
taking people and the environment into account when<br />
designing. With her own company, she mainly focuses on<br />
photographing products in free environments. Everything was<br />
different in this project, and Sifra was very enthusiastic about<br />
that.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 42<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 43
YOUNG TALENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT<br />
Dragon fruit By Sifra Kuipers, St Joost School of Art & Design<br />
Dragon fruit By Sifra Kuipers, St Joost School of Art & Design<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 44<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 45
FRESH INNOVATION<br />
‘Fresh will<br />
finally go live<br />
in <strong>2022</strong>’<br />
‘Together we are witnessing a historic moment<br />
at Aartsen: In <strong>2022</strong>, we will be experiencing<br />
the strongest growth in 115 years’<br />
Forget the takeovers. Forget the milestones.<br />
In <strong>2022</strong>, we can expect a life-changing moment in<br />
the Aartsen history. In recent years, our dedicated<br />
colleagues have made huge efforts to get Fresh,<br />
our new custom-made ERP (Enterprise Resource<br />
Planning) system, up and running. This system will<br />
take Aartsen to the next level. We are trading up<br />
from a 90s VW Polo to a hypermodern<br />
tfull-option Mercedes.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 46<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 47
FRESH INNOVATION<br />
‘We are<br />
trading up<br />
from a 90s<br />
VW Polo to a<br />
hypermodern<br />
full-option<br />
Mercedes’<br />
jJack Aartsen looks back on the old ERP system,<br />
which was developed in-house by the third<br />
Aartsen generation.<br />
‘We have worked very successfully with this<br />
system for 35 years, but the time was ripe for<br />
a new system. With the benefit of hindsight, we<br />
started this project too late. The public still sees<br />
us as a forward-looking, innovative, role-model<br />
company in the fruit and vegetable sector.<br />
In many ways I agree with this, except for one<br />
caveat: when it comes to innovation and IT,<br />
we really are behind the curve.’<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 48<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 49
‘This was not<br />
the easiest<br />
choice, but<br />
certainly the<br />
best one for<br />
Aartsen and<br />
the future’<br />
t<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong><br />
Three years ago, the company decided to catch<br />
up in a big way. ‘We invested in expanding the<br />
team of colleagues and in setting up an in-house<br />
IT department. Five years ago, this department<br />
did not even exist. Now we have six colleagues<br />
working there.’<br />
While choosing an off-the-shelf system would<br />
seem the most obvious move, Aartsen walked<br />
its own path and went for a bespoke solution.<br />
Together with Thinkwise, it developed its own<br />
custom-made ERP system. ‘This was absolutely<br />
not the easiest choice, but certainly the best one<br />
for Aartsen and the future.’<br />
Jack is really proud of the team of colleagues that<br />
run this project. ‘The plaudits do not belong to me,<br />
by to these driven colleagues. They put their heart<br />
and soul into this project. I hope for them that it<br />
will be a great success.’<br />
FRESH INNOVATION<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 50<br />
COLORFUL | 51
FRESH INNOVATION<br />
‘This<br />
system will<br />
take Aartsen<br />
to the next<br />
level’<br />
rRenewing an ERP system after 35 years in a<br />
large organisation like ours is a transformation of<br />
incalculable significance. ‘This system will take<br />
Aartsen to the next level. There is no way back<br />
- success is the only option. The system will bring<br />
our ambitions for the coming years back within<br />
reach. This makes its historic significance many<br />
times greater than everyone in our organisation<br />
realises.<br />
For years, my personal goal has been to get us all<br />
aiming to be the best fruit and vegetable company<br />
in this sector. I do not need to be the biggest, nor<br />
the fastest: I want to be the best. At any rate, that<br />
is what we are striving for. We were really behind<br />
the curve. I always compare it to a VW Polo.<br />
We were driving the world’s fastest Polo. While it<br />
zipped along the motorway at 250 kilometres an<br />
hour, it was just held together with cable ties.’<br />
The new ERP system is comparable to a big<br />
Mercedes with standard features and plenty of<br />
potential –like a car that creates a new driving<br />
experience. ‘From this point on, we can start<br />
planning for the future again.<br />
In recent years, our outdated ERP system<br />
prevented me from making a plan. Soon, however,<br />
we will be driving with a powerful basic engine that<br />
will really let us achieve our ambitions.<br />
Once again, we have the potential and capacity to<br />
make a great leap forward.’<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 52<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 53
‘We have<br />
been able<br />
to achieve<br />
this thanks<br />
to a fantastic<br />
team’<br />
s<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong><br />
The past five years have seen the strongest growth<br />
in Aartsen’s 115-year history. ‘This is thanks to our<br />
fantastic team of ambitious colleagues.<br />
The company is like a runaway train that is racing<br />
along the tracks and I can no longer hold it back.<br />
All I can do is ensure that our organisation keeps<br />
the train on track, because I am convinced that<br />
it will keep on going for the next five years.’<br />
When Fresh goes live, Aartsen will have gained<br />
a sales-boosting ERP system. ‘It is a truly<br />
custom-made solution. In terms of innovation,<br />
we will soon have new data at our disposal.<br />
Five years ago, I would never have imagined<br />
that we would be employing a data analyst.<br />
We will soon be using these data to take new<br />
steps commercially. We will also be able to make<br />
efficiency improvements in our warehouse.<br />
Data equal knowledge, and knowledge equals<br />
power. That is something we were never able to<br />
leverage, but soon we will.’<br />
Fresh will go live in <strong>2022</strong>. ‘There is so much going<br />
on in our organisation right now. People are being<br />
trained, taking courses and feel involved.’<br />
FRESH INNOVATION<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 54<br />
COLORFUL | 55
AARTSEN PUZZLES<br />
Just sit back and enjoy<br />
these puzzles.<br />
6<br />
1. AARTSEN'S SOUTH-AMERICAN BRAND<br />
2. A NONSTOPFRESH BRAND<br />
3. AARTSEN'S MOST COLORFUL BRAND<br />
4. IN THIS COUNTRY WE ARE SOON STARTING TO<br />
BUILD A BRAND NEW AARTSEN BRANCHE<br />
5. HERE YOU CAN FIND AARTSEN ASIA<br />
5<br />
1<br />
3<br />
6. THEY MAKE CHILDREN SMILE<br />
7. THEME OF THIS MAGAZINE<br />
8. HERE YOU CAN FIND AARTSEN'S HEADQUARTERS<br />
9. ASAIN FRUIT MENTIONED IN THE MAGAZINE<br />
10. AARTSEN'S ITALIAN BRAND<br />
11. AARTSEN'S FAMOUS PAY-OFF<br />
4 16 9 24 23 11 11 9<br />
2<br />
15 9 15 5<br />
4<br />
9 9 13 17 23 24<br />
5 23 20 1 18 15<br />
29 28 24 4 12 24 4<br />
12 1 2 17 3 28 18 24 2 9 13 1 28<br />
9<br />
7<br />
10 28 20 28 16 18 20<br />
8 5 23 2 9<br />
9 10 12 3 16 1 13<br />
10<br />
10 9 26 13 28<br />
E C C A P I T O T 9 O A L S<br />
U I C O N U S A 1 E D B Z M<br />
L O R D U E R 1 E A L W Z I<br />
B A I O L K 9 X N A V O P L<br />
T G A P L B U A C Z E L I E<br />
O I P R U G C K W Z G L L V<br />
Z A U L T N S O O E E E P G<br />
W Z C R O S N D B D T Y T R<br />
L H E C F U E O N N A S O E<br />
S E I R R E B N I A B V O E<br />
I Y I T F O N D A R L Z T N<br />
W A K F E N E E R G E L Y Z<br />
I M H S E R F P O T S N O N<br />
K I M A M B A E G N A R O H<br />
11 24 28 24 17 28 26 3 16 23 17 29 <strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 57<br />
KIWIS<br />
LIPZZ<br />
LZV<br />
MAMBA<br />
NONSTOPFRESH<br />
OKUKU<br />
ORANGE<br />
RAINBOW<br />
RED<br />
SMILE<br />
TOOTY<br />
UNO<br />
VEGETABLES<br />
VIOLET<br />
WHITE<br />
YAMI<br />
YELLOW<br />
AARTSEN<br />
AKF<br />
APPLES<br />
BERRIES<br />
BLACK<br />
BLUE<br />
CAPITO<br />
CLUB9119<br />
FREZZ<br />
FRUIT<br />
GRANDEZZA<br />
GREEN<br />
GREENZ<br />
HOLLANDSGLORIE<br />
ICONCANADA<br />
ICONUSA<br />
INDIGO<br />
See the results on the next page.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 56
RESULT AARTSEN PUZZLES<br />
Result puzzles.<br />
Inspired<br />
by colors<br />
MAMBA ADVERTISEMENT<br />
of Africa<br />
1 G R A N D E Z Z A<br />
2 A A R T S E N<br />
3 M A M B A<br />
4 B E L G I U M<br />
and its<br />
5 H O N G K O N G<br />
6 K I D S F O U N D A T I O N<br />
7 C O L O R F U L<br />
products.<br />
8 B R E D A<br />
9 J A C K F R U I T<br />
10 C A P I T O<br />
11 N O N S T O P F R E S H<br />
E C C A P I T O T 9 O A L S<br />
U I C O N U S A 1 E D B Z M<br />
L O R D U E R 1 E A L W Z I<br />
B A I O L K 9 X N A V O P L<br />
T G A P L B U A C Z E L I E<br />
O I P R U G C K W Z G L L V<br />
Z A U L T N S O O E E E P G<br />
W Z C R O S N D B D T Y T R<br />
L H E C F U E O N N A S O E<br />
S E I R R E B N I A B V O E<br />
I Y I T F O N D A R L Z T N<br />
W A K F E N E E R G E L Y Z<br />
I M H S E R F P O T S N O N<br />
K I M A M B A E G N A R O H<br />
C O L O R E X P L O S I O N<br />
MAMBA<br />
PRODUCE OF AFRICA<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 58<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 59
YOUNG TALENT SCOUT<br />
A <strong>colorful</strong> combination<br />
Writing a<br />
cultural history<br />
of carrots and<br />
peas.<br />
Jos Spijkerman, philosophy and spatial planning student in Groningen,<br />
won a grant from Flevo Campus Almere to do research into the cultural<br />
history – and present – of the iconic vegetable combination of carrots<br />
and peas. What biological, industrial and cultural processes are fundamental<br />
to them ending up together in our meals? And why are they often found<br />
together in the first place? Is it because they form such a <strong>colorful</strong> combination?<br />
For nonstopfresh magazine, he explains what he learned from his research.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 60 <strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 61
YOUNG TALENT SCOUT<br />
“Why are carrots and peas put together in a jar?”<br />
I wondered every time I walked by them in the supermarket.<br />
Last year – half-jokingly – I submitted my research proposal<br />
for an essay competition organised by Flevo Campus, a<br />
research and knowledge institute in Almere. The winner<br />
receives a grant and their essay is published in Flevo<br />
Campus’ annual essay collection. There was a research<br />
topic that had intrigued me for quite some time, and which<br />
fit in well with the theme of the essay competition, namely<br />
the history, present and future of the food system. I entitled<br />
my proposal: “peas, carrots and how we got here – a<br />
cultural history of the most iconic vegetable duo”. To my<br />
surprise, I won.<br />
This is probably the background to the nationalist myth that<br />
the orange color was developed in honour of Prince William of<br />
Orange, the first leader of the Dutch Republic. Although the<br />
Dutch probably did play a role in popularising the orange color,<br />
it is very unlikely that this was part of a nationalist campaign.<br />
The purple carrot had the tendency to stain pottery and the<br />
white one was less tasty, so it’s not surprising that the orange<br />
one was most popular. But recently, <strong>colorful</strong> carrots have started<br />
reappearing in supermarkets as “forgotten vegetables”.<br />
A trend watcher told me this is because we are developing an<br />
appreciation for (bio)diversity, as part of the growing emphasis<br />
on sustainability.<br />
So now suddenly, I was a carrot and peas researcher. The history<br />
of carrots and peas is an interesting one. Let me start off with<br />
peas: these little fellas were among the first crops to be<br />
cultivated by humans. In the Neolithic Revolution, the first crops<br />
to be cultivated were often a combination of grains<br />
and legumes (such as peas). These made for carbohydrateand<br />
protein-rich meals, which ensured that people could<br />
remain living in one place to produce their foods. Harvest<br />
surpluses became more common, in turn causing a growth<br />
of agricultural production, trade, professionalisation in crafts,<br />
population growth and cities. And this was all thanks to peas<br />
(as well as some other things, of course).<br />
The vegetables we eat have changed size, shape, and color<br />
throughout history. We used to eat overripe peas, until the French<br />
elite found that unripe, they were sweeter. They combined them<br />
with young carrots and a new dish was invented. Poorer people<br />
usually ate big, sturdy carrots because they were easier to<br />
produce and store. It was a cultural statement to eat these<br />
small, young vegetables, because only the rich could afford<br />
them: it was labour-intensive to produce them in this way.<br />
Whoever wanted to appear rich, copied this fad. This is<br />
probably why the combination of carrots and peas became so<br />
popular. Although in my research, I found that other people and<br />
companies have their own origin story of this combination.<br />
“Why are carrots and peas put together in a jar?”<br />
Peas also played a big role in the history of agriculture and food<br />
production. Austrian monk Gregor Mendel researched the pea<br />
plants he grew in the yard of his monastery. He strictly monitored<br />
their traits (pea shape, pea color, flower color, stem shape) and<br />
the variation in their inheritance. So when he crossed a pea<br />
plant with green peas with a pea plant with yellow peas, he<br />
wrote down exactly what happened. Was the pea color passed<br />
on to the next generation? What about the generation after?<br />
In this way, Mendel and his peas established the laws of<br />
heredity and he became the founder of genetics.<br />
For my essay, I interviewed some pea breeders, who told me<br />
that they still use Mendel’s findings in their work. Of course, the<br />
laws of genetics he discovered are still applied, but not only<br />
that. Even Mendel’s method of pushing two flowers together<br />
to make them reproduce is still used today. By selectively<br />
cultivating in this way, breeders aim to create the perfect pea.<br />
For farmers, this means having a pea plant with stems that are<br />
all the same shape, so machines can be developed to harvest<br />
them. For food costumers, this largely means a uniform shape,<br />
size and, of course, color. I was told that the green pea has<br />
recently changed color, for they used to be a brighter green.<br />
Unfortunately, the pea breeders could not tell me why.<br />
This change in color is more clearly visible in the history of the<br />
carrot. Old texts and paintings show carrots in all sorts of colors:<br />
purple, white, yellow, red. They travelled along with merchants<br />
and traders, appearing and reappearing in Europe, with<br />
different colors in different periods of history. Orange carrots, too,<br />
gained popularity from time to time. But the orange color really<br />
started dominating when Dutch traders started growing them<br />
on a bigger scale and centralised their trade.<br />
Because the vegetables we cultivate and eat, have changed<br />
color throughout history, we can try to imagine what the future<br />
will look like. To ensure a sustainable future, we will need to focus<br />
on biodiversity, also with our vegetables. Looking at the history of<br />
the carrot, we learn that colors can vary greatly. We know how<br />
we can influence this in our breeding processes by applying<br />
Mendel’s laws. This basically means we can alter our vegetables<br />
to meet our wants and needs in a completely natural way.<br />
I like to think that in the future, we will combine purple carrots<br />
and yellow peas in a jar. This may not seem an appetising color<br />
combination to us today, but who knows what the future<br />
will bring?<br />
My essay will be published in April <strong>2022</strong> in the<br />
Flevo Campus Essay Collection.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 62<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 63
Is it meat<br />
or is it fruit?<br />
It’s delicious!<br />
FOOD JACKFRUIT RENDANG<br />
Floortje Bruijns studied Nutrition & Dietetics and now focuses her professional<br />
life on everything to do with food. As she explains it, food makes her blissfully<br />
happy. So she shares an exciting recipe with us for nonstopfresh magazine.<br />
This time, she is using the fruity alternative to meat: jackfruit rendang.<br />
Recipe for 3-4 persons<br />
Ingredients for Bumbu<br />
(pronounced as ‘boomboo’)<br />
• 2 tablespoons coriander<br />
• 0.5 tablespoon cumin<br />
• 5 candlenuts<br />
• 50 g ginger root, peeled<br />
• 50 g laos root, peeled<br />
• 40 g turmeric, peeled<br />
• 5 Spanish red peppers, remove the seeds and pith<br />
• 3 rawit chili peppers, remove the green stalk<br />
• 3 medium-sized onions, peeled<br />
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled<br />
• Generous pinch of salt<br />
Other ingredients<br />
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil<br />
• 500 ml coconut milk<br />
• 2 tins of young jackfruit, well rinsed and drained<br />
• 4 kaffir lime leaves<br />
• 2 stalks of lemongrass<br />
• 2 tablespoons sweet soy sauce<br />
Preparation<br />
First, prepare the bumbu. Roast the coriander<br />
and cumin in a dry pan until you can smell<br />
them. Then place all the ingredients of the<br />
bumbu in the food processor or blender and<br />
mix them until you have a smooth purée.<br />
Heat a saucepan on the cooker. Heat the<br />
coconut oil in this and fry the bumbu on a<br />
medium flame until it thickens. This means<br />
the moisture has evaporated. Add the<br />
coconut milk, jackfruit, kaffir lime leaves and<br />
lemongrass to the pan. Add salt to taste.<br />
Let this simmer on a low flame for at least<br />
1.5 hours and stir occasionally.<br />
When the jackfruit is completely cooked<br />
and has properly taken on all the flavours,<br />
remove the pan from the flame. Now add<br />
two tablespoons of sweet soy sauce.<br />
Serve with pandan rice and, for instance,<br />
green beans, pickled cucumber and red onion.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 64 <strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 65
BUSINESS IN HONG KONG<br />
So what's been<br />
going on in<br />
Hong Kong?<br />
“It was just a matter<br />
of breaking through<br />
some walls.”<br />
Aartsen Asia relocated again to a much larger office in the second half of 2020.<br />
The move marked a new step in preparing for our company's further growth<br />
and development, and was enabled by our ongoing expansion in collaboration<br />
with partners around the world. The end result: an impressive and inspiring<br />
workplace for our team.<br />
More than a year has since passed, and - you guessed it - we thought it<br />
was high time to check in with Menno van Breemen (managing director,<br />
Aartsen Asia) in Breda and Pui San Poon (head of administration & finance,<br />
Aartsen Asia) in Hong Kong to see how things are going at Aartsen Asia.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 66<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 67
BUSINESS IN HONG KONG<br />
Continued<br />
growth.<br />
Additional space<br />
"When we relocated last year, we knew we had<br />
several options to expand if we needed to",<br />
Menno explains. We were - and remain -<br />
convinced that we'll continue to grow in the<br />
coming years, so we definitely wanted to take<br />
the next step and build in some extra leeway.<br />
This would allow us to realise our next expansion<br />
at the same location: we opted for an office space<br />
with room to expand on both sides. "It was just a<br />
matter of breaking through some walls."<br />
Things were starting to get pretty crowded with<br />
a staff of 24, so we seized the opportunity to<br />
expand to the neighbouring offices.<br />
I don't expect our growth to slow down in the<br />
coming years; with the right people, there's no<br />
stopping us."<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 68<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 69
BUSINESS IN HONG KONG<br />
Working from Hong Kong and<br />
the Netherlands<br />
Menno has been working from Breda since September<br />
2021. He explains: "We finalised all our decisions on<br />
the expansion while I was still working in Hong Kong,<br />
and realised the design in close collaboration with Pui San.<br />
Pui San speaks Dutch and the local language, which<br />
makes it much easier to work with local subcontractors.<br />
We also worked together during previous relocations."<br />
Pui San: "So we had already built up quite a bit of<br />
experience. I've been with Aartsen Asia for seven years<br />
now. I was employee number 4 in Hong Kong, so I've seen<br />
a lot of expansions and relocations and always supported<br />
Menno throughout those processes. He's a bit of a control<br />
freak, but I always keep him up to speed on everything<br />
that's going on." Menno: "She knows exactly what I want<br />
and expect, so it's been smooth sailing. I never had to<br />
worry about anything."<br />
Aartsen<br />
Asia<br />
takes<br />
flight.<br />
The Asian market offers enormous potential<br />
and the Aartsen Asia philosophy is proving very<br />
successful. We also have a young and highly<br />
motivated team: everyone is working incredibly<br />
hard, and they all love what they do.<br />
The opportunity to expand certainly came at the<br />
right time. We now have more meeting rooms,<br />
more call boxes so that sales people can talk to<br />
suppliers or customers in a quiet environment,<br />
our pantry has doubled in size and the office<br />
offers an even more impressive view. In terms<br />
of design, layout, materials and furnishings,<br />
Aartsen Asia has continued along the path set<br />
out by Jan Geysen of Puur Interieur. With his<br />
input, the team managed to make optimal use<br />
of the available space.<br />
"It was a bit stressful for me at times. I know what he<br />
wants, so I had to be on top of everything that was going<br />
on and check all the products and furniture that were being<br />
delivered extra carefully. By the way, I'm not doing all this<br />
alone. Gijs Aartsen also joined our 'moving office team'.<br />
I also have a team of people supporting me who can take<br />
over tasks when I'm busy organising a relocation<br />
or expansion."<br />
As Menno explains, it's all about teamwork: "Pui San<br />
obviously plays a crucial role, but we should also mention<br />
the IT department in Breda. They do a lot of important work<br />
behind the scenes that isn't necessarily visible, but makes<br />
a huge difference to what we do. IT has played an<br />
important role in the company's relocation, expansion and<br />
growth. In fact, we wouldn't be able to grow if it weren't<br />
for the IT department."<br />
Having lunch together ...<br />
A friendly atmosphere and a cosy<br />
lunch area<br />
Last year, we deliberately chose to apply the design<br />
concept from our Breda offices to the Hong Kong branch.<br />
A good example would be the pantry, which allows for a<br />
clear separation between work and lunch time.<br />
The office will retain this atmosphere after the expansion is<br />
completed. As Pui San explains, the space is heavily used.<br />
"It's become a hub for all sorts of activities and local and<br />
non-local colleagues. A space where people can stop<br />
talking about work for a while. You notice people really<br />
make a conscious effort to drop by. There's a great<br />
atmosphere, and we've even been organising monthly<br />
lunches where everyone cooks something at home and<br />
brings it to the office to eat together. That's not really<br />
common in Hong Kong; most companies simply don't<br />
have enough space.<br />
Hong Kong floor space prices are so high that many<br />
companies are happy to let their employees eat lunch<br />
outside. We also organise Happy Friday drinks at<br />
5 o'clock to boost team spirit. New staff tend to settle<br />
into the team in no time, it's pretty much automatic."<br />
Future outlook<br />
The team does seem to be constantly adding new recruits.<br />
Pui San: "When I first started here, there were only four of<br />
us. I'm still amazed at how quickly and consistently we're<br />
expanding, but it's great to be a part of that process. We now<br />
have the capacity to expand to 38 workstations. We don't<br />
know how long it will be before we outgrow the office again,<br />
but there's a lot of room to make things better now."<br />
Full speed ahead!<br />
"As Menno puts it: 'If everything<br />
seems under control, we're just<br />
not going fast enough".<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 70<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 71
HISTORY<br />
Foundation preserves<br />
historical apple varieties<br />
Good<br />
taste is<br />
never<br />
lost.<br />
Frits Doornenbal<br />
The Netherlands is not a particularly large country,<br />
but if you drive from south to north you can easily<br />
cover a distance of about 250 kilometres.<br />
Nynke Zijlstra<br />
Copywriter Stefan Verhaar drove from Breda, in the<br />
south of the Netherlands, to Friesland in the north<br />
of the country to listen to the story of Nynke Zijlstra<br />
and Frits Doornenbal of Stichting Fruit yn Fryslân<br />
(Fruit in Friesland Foundation).<br />
The mission of this foundation, established in 2004,<br />
is to preserve old fruit varieties, including apples,<br />
and to share knowledge about them.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 72 <strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 73
HISTORY<br />
Over 250 varieties<br />
of apples planted in<br />
an orchard.<br />
In Friesland, the landscape is even more wide open<br />
than in the rest of the Netherlands. You can see<br />
very far, as there is little to obscure your view of the<br />
horizon, which makes the Dutch cloudscapes even<br />
more impressive. In the north of the province, you can<br />
feel that you’re close to the Wadden Sea, even if you<br />
cannot see it yet.<br />
Over 250 varieties of apples<br />
Frits and Nynke tell me that they have compiled<br />
a list of over 500 historical Dutch apple varieties.<br />
“In an orchard in Sint Nicolaasga, we have now<br />
planted around 250 Dutch varieties. We collect apple<br />
varieties in Friesland, some people bring their apples<br />
to exhibitions, and we also obtain some old varieties<br />
abroad. There are associations and clubs like our<br />
foundation all over Europe, and we share knowledge<br />
and exchange varieties with them. We graft all the<br />
cuttings ourselves and create new fruit trees in this<br />
way,” says Nynke. “We try to plant several trees of<br />
each variety in our orchards to avoid risks. We also<br />
document everything, because a good archive is<br />
very valuable.”<br />
Historical source<br />
“Some of the trees we now have in our orchard are<br />
varieties that we learned about through historical<br />
research and managed to locate in England,<br />
Germany, Denmark and other countries,” says Frits.<br />
The foundation bases its search for apple varieties<br />
on historical documents and other sources. In<br />
the second half of the 18th century, the gardener<br />
Johann Knoop, who hailed from Germany, wrote<br />
several important books on fruit varieties. In his book<br />
Pomologia (1758), for example, he described more<br />
than 100 varieties of apples. The book is beautifully<br />
illustrated with pictures that were hand-colored by<br />
the daughters of his then publisher.<br />
Oldest Frisian variety<br />
One of the apples that Knoop extensively describes<br />
is Doeke Martens, probably the oldest Frisian variety<br />
and the variety the foundation is most proud of.<br />
This apple derives its name from Doeke Martena,<br />
a 16th-century descendant of a historical family of<br />
local nobles that owned a large stone manor house<br />
in the north of Friesland: Martenastate. Today, the<br />
renovated estate still plays a role in the work of the<br />
foundation. Nynke: “In the current estate, we created<br />
a pear tree tunnel, a path lined with historic varieties<br />
of pear trees that form a canopy over it.” Frits adds:<br />
“we occasionally plant orchards on estates or in other<br />
people’s gardens. Not on a large scale, because<br />
it isn’t our core business, but we enjoy planting in<br />
special places like Martenastate.”<br />
Taste explosion à la Sonnaville<br />
We can talk about apples until the cows come home,<br />
but what do these historic apple varieties actually<br />
taste like? Time to find out! I am handed the beautiful<br />
Pink Pearl with its pink-red flesh. Bellida is also<br />
surprising: a lovely taste. But one variety really stands<br />
out: Karmijn de Sonnaville, which is crisp, fresh and<br />
sweet with a touch of acidity. In the US it is rated<br />
as one of the best apples in the world. According to<br />
Nynke, Karmijn de Sonnaville is almost like a slap<br />
in the face due to the intense flavour combination.<br />
A taste explosion. She wasn’t lying. This apple is a<br />
great way to end a wonderful afternoon.<br />
If you would like to find out more about Fruit yn<br />
Fryslân, visit www.fruitynfryslân.nl.<br />
__________________________<br />
Past and present<br />
There is a big difference between the historical<br />
apple varieties preserved by collectors and<br />
commercial cultivation. Frits explains: “apples<br />
should be picked ripe, and eaten on time. A lot of<br />
apples aren’t immediately ready to eat when they<br />
are ready for picking – they need time to develop<br />
their flavour after they have been picked. To ensure<br />
optimal taste with the best structure and all the<br />
aromas, you need to put off picking the apples until<br />
they are picking ripe.<br />
The apples in supermarkets are often picked before<br />
they are ripe in order to slow down the ripening<br />
process and ensure consistent quality levels for a<br />
longer shelf life. Furthermore, the appearance and<br />
size of an apple play an important role nowadays.<br />
Six shiny apples per kilo, that’s the requirement.<br />
But with a historical variety, there is a great deal of<br />
variation in terms of shape and size.” Commercial<br />
apples are subject to different requirements than<br />
historical apple varieties, and Frits and Nynke are<br />
now well aware of this difference between past and<br />
present.<br />
__________________________<br />
Frits and Nynke have<br />
compiled a list of<br />
over 500 historical<br />
Dutch apple varieties.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 74<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 75
THE WORLD OF AARTSEN<br />
The<br />
Wor<br />
ld<br />
of<br />
Aar<br />
tse<br />
n<br />
Proud sponsor<br />
Dutch Hockey.<br />
Aartsen recently became a proud sponsor<br />
of the Dutch Hockey Club in Hong Kong.<br />
DHC Hong Kong, founded in 1949, is the oldest<br />
field hockey club in Hong Kong. In the past,<br />
membership was restricted to Dutch nationals.<br />
But times have changed and DHC Hong Kong is<br />
now a truly international club with players not just<br />
from the Netherlands, but also from Hong Kong,<br />
the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina,<br />
Germany and many other countries.<br />
DHC Hong Kong has two men’s and one women’s<br />
team in the Hong Kong Hockey Association.<br />
Grandezza wear<br />
in Asia’s wholesale<br />
markets now!<br />
Our trusted partners are always going the<br />
extra mile for Grandezza. New stylish Grandezza<br />
sweaters and T-shirts can now be found in local<br />
wholesale markets in China, Thailand, Hong Kong<br />
and others will soon follow! Grandezza has<br />
developed into a premium brand with a year-round<br />
presence and is on top of the market.<br />
Top growers in Australia and South America<br />
supply their products under the Grandezza label,<br />
which is a hallmark of outstanding quality.<br />
The Grandezza wear is designed to further<br />
promote and extend our label’s brand presence.<br />
We wish our partners a successful selling season<br />
with the new Grandezza wear!<br />
Cherry season in full swing.<br />
Since the cherry season is in full swing it’s a great time to have our own branded<br />
tram back in the streets of Hong Kong. This year we updated the design with our<br />
private label Lipzz. Also this year, this "The best cherries are always on top" tram is<br />
a collaboration between our Australian partner Tasmanian Cherries by Reid Fruits,<br />
our customer Sun Lee Laan Wholesale Food Limited and Aartsen fruit and vegetables.<br />
Grow toghether.<br />
Let’s go together team outing for<br />
Breda, Venlo & St. Katelijne-Waver<br />
We can only grow together. And a fun and informal<br />
gathering certainly makes a good contribution to<br />
that! Our Venlo, St. Katelijne-Waver and Breda<br />
branches enjoyed chips and burgers from the<br />
Hieper de Pieper food truck. A hard-working team,<br />
it was great to see you all together!<br />
Grow your<br />
career<br />
together<br />
with Aartsen.<br />
Anniversaries<br />
18/06/2021 Jurgen Boomaerts Breda 25<br />
30/06/2021 Wim van Poppel Breda 35<br />
01/07/2021 Pascal Stabel Breda 25<br />
01/07/2021 Enzo Zeekaf Venlo 25<br />
02/08/2021 Jeffry Kuypers St. Katelijne-Waver 12.5<br />
01/09/2021 Jack Nuiten Breda 25<br />
30/09/2021 Frans Jongerius Venlo 25<br />
06/10/2021 Ignace van Nuffelen St. Katelijne-Waver 12.5<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 76<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 77
SIZE<br />
DOES<br />
MATTER.<br />
THE WORLD OF AARTSEN<br />
It took a while, but it was more than<br />
worth the wait. Aartsen’s new LHV,<br />
short for Longer and Heavier Vehicle,<br />
has been delivered and is now ready for<br />
use. The LHV is an articulated lorry<br />
that can carry an extra 14 pallets, so<br />
40 pallets in total per journey! Now that is<br />
what we call efficient haulage! Both of<br />
our Aartsen drivers, Maikel and Michel,<br />
recently obtained the required certificate<br />
and are now authorised to drive our<br />
new lorry. We will initially use the LHV to<br />
move goods between our Breda and<br />
Venlo branches, but we will of course<br />
also consider future needs. Another great<br />
example of how we constantly<br />
keep our ever-growing organisation<br />
nonstopfresh.<br />
Project PineAPPle<br />
everything is changing.<br />
Project PineaAPPle is back!<br />
Unfortunately, technical issues<br />
caused a considerable delay.<br />
Thankfully, we were able to<br />
achieve the desired result with<br />
the adjustments we made and<br />
we are now continuing with the<br />
project. The final test phase has<br />
begun, and we will now focus<br />
completly on planning the go live.<br />
To be continued…<br />
Five-day<br />
Christmas<br />
countdown.<br />
We ended 2021 in a festive way together.<br />
It was a busy week, but more fun than ever.<br />
During the five days before Christmas,<br />
we provided a delicious breakfast and<br />
lunch every day. Everyone enjoyed the<br />
nice surprise and tucked in!<br />
The<br />
Wor<br />
ld<br />
of<br />
Aar<br />
tse<br />
n<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 78<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 79
HEATTH<br />
No,<br />
Are you crazy?!<br />
that’s just how<br />
much I enjoy<br />
'Getting out of bed between four<br />
and six in the morning. Hardly<br />
time for a lunchbreak. Missing the<br />
Friday afternoon get-together with<br />
friends because of work calls.<br />
Are you crazy?! I’m totally crazy!’<br />
When his friends in the pub call<br />
him an absolute madman, our<br />
colleague answers with a laugh:<br />
‘No, really, that’s just how much I<br />
enjoy my work!’, and everyone<br />
goes quiet… Our sector really does<br />
start early in the day, it is what it is,<br />
but at the same time, we are<br />
constantly investing in the wellbeing<br />
of our people in other areas.<br />
From sports during working hours<br />
to a healthy lunch and flexible<br />
working hours, Aartsen strives to<br />
promote our colleagues’ well-being!<br />
my work!<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 80<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 81
HEATTH<br />
2<br />
Burgers vs. vegetable soup<br />
Just grab a quick sandwich when you have a<br />
moment – at Aartsen, we aim to move away from<br />
this mentality. We want our colleagues to take the<br />
time for a lunchbreak. In Breda, we already serve<br />
healthy lunches, and it is very much appreciated.<br />
So no burgers and fries with ketchup and<br />
mayonnaise for us – in our restaurant, we serve<br />
fresh soups, freshly made salads and healthy<br />
juices. These are all made with Aartsen’s own fresh<br />
produce, of course. In the future,<br />
we aim to roll out these "restaurants" throughout<br />
Aartsen, so all our colleagues can take the time for<br />
lunch and enjoy a fresh and healthy meal.<br />
3<br />
How do you handle work pressure?<br />
In our world, which is changing ever faster, the wellbeing<br />
of our people is now an important issue for us.<br />
We realise that we work at top-sports level, and this<br />
sometimes demands a lot from our colleagues.<br />
But we also want to treat the people who belong to<br />
our family with care and consideration. How do you<br />
handle work pressure? The pressure of a phone<br />
that is constantly ringing? An email inbox that is<br />
filling up fast? A list of tasks that keeps getting<br />
longer and longer? In the future, we want to provide<br />
our colleagues with more guidance and support, for<br />
instance by making a timetable that fits the work<br />
activities.<br />
Moreover, this should be a timetable that is realistic,<br />
that does not give you the sense that you are falling<br />
behind before you have even started. We provide<br />
tools for achieving better balance, so that you can<br />
do your work better.<br />
No,<br />
Are you crazy?!<br />
that’s just how<br />
much I enjoy<br />
my work!<br />
1<br />
Performing at Champions League level<br />
The work that we achieve daily at Aartsen is TOP-LEVEL<br />
SPORT. We work at the Champions League level. And we are<br />
convinced that we can only reach the highest possible level<br />
with the help of our healthy and lively staff. This is why, at<br />
many of our locations, we enable them to do sports training<br />
during working hours. Our colleagues receive one-to-one<br />
coaching from a personal trainer to help them achieve their<br />
personal goals. In the coming years, we are going to further<br />
expand these sports facilities, so that we can make sport<br />
during working hours possible for all our colleagues in future.<br />
That way, we will have the strongest team in the fruit and<br />
vegetable sector.<br />
4<br />
The new flexible way of working<br />
For a long time, a very long time, we were far away<br />
from the idea of flexible working. Our colleagues<br />
work ‘our hours’, we apply for holiday leave well in<br />
advance and the work goes on. But this style of<br />
working is no longer future proof.<br />
The new generation is ready for flexibility, ready for<br />
taking an afternoon off more easily, ready for work<br />
that can easily be coordinated with a Friday afternoon<br />
get-together and ready for picking up the kids from<br />
school more easily. All this makes us realise that<br />
work really needs to be in balance with a person’s<br />
private life.<br />
So, if this can support our people’s well-being, we<br />
are happy to start thinking this way too in the future –<br />
one step at a time!<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 82<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 83
FRESH NEW PRODUCTS<br />
nonstopfresh new<br />
products available<br />
at Aartsen.<br />
Shine<br />
Muscat<br />
Fresh new product:<br />
Korean seedless grapes<br />
Varieties: Shine Muscat<br />
Country of origin:<br />
South Korea<br />
Taste: Crisp flesh<br />
texture, muscat flavour<br />
with low acidity<br />
Size: Brix 17-20. Around<br />
700-900 g per bunch; number<br />
of berries in a bunch is 40-45<br />
Season: July to December but<br />
can be stored till February<br />
Extra information:<br />
Korean shine muscat is<br />
growing really fast in terms<br />
of both supply and demand.<br />
S<br />
D<br />
Driscoll's Organic<br />
Fresh new product:<br />
Driscoll’s Organic berries<br />
Varieties: Raspberries,<br />
blackberries and blueberries.<br />
Country of origin:<br />
Spain and Morocco<br />
Supplier: Driscoll's<br />
Size: Fully recyclable<br />
punnet 125 g<br />
Season: From <strong>2022</strong><br />
Brand information: Driscoll’s is<br />
committed to growing only the<br />
finest berries. Family-owned and<br />
operated for over 100 years.<br />
Extra information: The organic packaging<br />
is produced with an emphasis on the use of<br />
renewable resources and supporting biodiversity and<br />
now available in paper with 94% less plastic.<br />
B z<br />
Baby vegetables<br />
Fresh new product: Baby vegetables<br />
Varieties: Mini carrots, mini mix rainbow carrots,<br />
mini zucchini, mini fennel, mini leek, mini turnip,<br />
mini eggplant, mini beetroot, patty pan, mini cabbage.<br />
Country of origin: South Africa<br />
Size: Baby<br />
Season: (Almost) year-round<br />
Extra information: Most baby vegetables are<br />
early-harvested vegetables from standard size<br />
varieties, but some are separate varieties.<br />
Zespri Organic<br />
Fresh new product: Zespri Organic<br />
Varieties: SunGold and Green<br />
Country of origin: New Zealand, Italy and Greece<br />
Supplier: Zespri International Limited<br />
Size: Green available in sizes 33, 36 and 39 in modular bulk<br />
packaging. Sungold available in sizes 25, 30 and 36 in<br />
modular loose packaging.<br />
Season: Sungold<br />
European season: From November to January<br />
New Zealand season: From May to December<br />
Season: Green<br />
European season: From December to May<br />
New Zealand season: From May to December<br />
Brand information: Zespri is the world’s largest marketer<br />
of kiwifruit, selling kiwifruit in over 59 countries.<br />
Extra information: The stickers on the organic kiwis,<br />
the plastic used and the ink on the boxes are better<br />
for nature.<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 84<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 85
Matured in an<br />
alpine-mediterranean<br />
climate<br />
We excite consumers<br />
in every season.<br />
Rigourously<br />
controlled<br />
Year-round<br />
availability<br />
From small<br />
family-owned<br />
farms<br />
Enticing varieties<br />
for all tastes<br />
Special quality<br />
thanks to the<br />
different seasons<br />
‘From country<br />
to country’ with<br />
Aartsen Asia.<br />
‘Colorful’ is a suitable theme for<br />
Aartsen. After all, we are an organisation<br />
that offers perhaps the widest range<br />
and biggest diversity of products in<br />
our sector. As a result, our products<br />
represent the entire rainbow of colors!<br />
Nothing is too outrageous for us.<br />
You name it, we handle it!<br />
Menno van Breemen has been the Managing<br />
Director of Aartsen Asia in Hong Kong since 2012.<br />
Colors in Asia<br />
Asia has built up almost its entire<br />
history around colors and their<br />
significance. Colors are found<br />
everywhere. Take the elements<br />
of happiness, health, longevity<br />
and superstition, for example.<br />
In the Far East, the following five<br />
colors are the most important:<br />
red, yellow, green, black and white.<br />
In Asia, colors do not necessarily<br />
have a significance because of their<br />
visual character; they also have<br />
thoughts and forms of faith<br />
attached to them. In the Far East,<br />
colors are related to the wind<br />
direction, planets, animals, numbers,<br />
energy, seasons, phases of the<br />
moon, yin and yang, the climate,<br />
constellations and even fruit.<br />
The most important color in Asia is<br />
red. In our Western culture, this<br />
color may make us think of<br />
Valentine's Day or love, but in Asia,<br />
it represents joy and happiness.<br />
Yellow stands for royalty and wealth,<br />
but it is also related to spirituality.<br />
The color green represents<br />
‘refreshing and healthy’. This color<br />
also has a link with Jade, as well as<br />
money. Black is the symbol of<br />
power and authority. In China, black<br />
also represents honesty, and the<br />
color white is associated with death.<br />
For example, white or silver paper is<br />
burned when someone dies.<br />
You may well have heard of the<br />
famous tradition of giving red<br />
envelopes at Chinese New Year.<br />
In the Chinese culture, this is a gift<br />
that is given to unmarried young<br />
people or by a boss to his team of<br />
employees, for example. Either way,<br />
people are always nice and happy<br />
around Chinese New Year, because<br />
they know it is time for the red<br />
envelopes!<br />
Colors in business<br />
Subconsciously, this truth applies<br />
to many: if you want to achieve<br />
something or wish to be successful,<br />
knowledge of a culture and traditions<br />
can make all the difference.<br />
Doing business in Asia involves<br />
different cultures – successful and<br />
long-term relationships go hand in<br />
hand with a knowledge of different<br />
cultures, and this also includes a<br />
knowledge of colors. Where should<br />
you sit when you enter a room, how<br />
should you behave in a group, how<br />
should you handle the traditions?<br />
For example, you might mistakenly<br />
give a white scarf as a gift to a<br />
Chinese business contact...<br />
People often think that it matters<br />
little whether or not you follow the<br />
right etiquette, because Asian<br />
business contacts are always nice<br />
and respectful and ‘they’re already<br />
a good customer’. However, it is<br />
extremely important for the<br />
relationship. Even though they might<br />
say that everything is fine, to really<br />
get into the inner circle of your<br />
busines relations, you will need to<br />
go beyond just communicating as<br />
you always do. Once you manage<br />
to do that, a customer might<br />
suddenly become a true partner.<br />
This takes time, a lot of it. There is a<br />
saying about an orange: it's orange<br />
(obviously) and can mark the start<br />
of a successful relationship. In the<br />
West, the skin is thin, and you can<br />
quickly build a relationship, but you<br />
only reach one piece of the whole.<br />
In Asia, and especially in China,<br />
you have to make a lot of effort and<br />
really work to understand the other<br />
party. It is a time-consuming<br />
process, because the skin is very<br />
thick. But if you manage to get<br />
through the skin, you really are in,<br />
and they will let you into every<br />
piece. This is the foundation of a<br />
far-reaching relationship that can<br />
take the collaboration between the<br />
two companies to a higher level.<br />
The road to success is long.<br />
Colors in this pandemic<br />
For a long time now, the various<br />
countries on the COVID-19 world<br />
map have been turning green,<br />
yellow, orange and red. Things have<br />
been going up and down like a<br />
yo-yo, as well as from left to right,<br />
and the end is unfortunately not yet<br />
in sight. This makes travelling the<br />
world to visit our partners very<br />
difficult. About four months ago,<br />
my family and I traded Hong Kong<br />
for the Netherlands. In our view,<br />
this was a bigger step than the<br />
journey we took 11 years ago from<br />
the Netherlands to Asia. Over the<br />
past four months, there has been<br />
contact with my team in Hong Kong<br />
every day (despite the travel<br />
restrictions). We are proud of the<br />
team, and with today's technology,<br />
the control is there and we are on<br />
the right growth path.<br />
We have expanded the team<br />
considerably in the last six months<br />
and now have many languages in<br />
the office color palette (from<br />
Vietnamese and Korean to<br />
Japanese and from Mandarin and<br />
Cantonese to Spanish). Growth is in<br />
the pipeline, and with the expansion<br />
of the office, we are once again<br />
ready to invest and build on the<br />
further development of our great<br />
company!<br />
We can therefore say that we have<br />
turned over a new page in the<br />
Netherlands to add a touch of color.<br />
With all the associated challenges.<br />
One thing is certain: we are really<br />
looking forward to it. Both with the<br />
team in Asia and in Europe, we will<br />
create a beautiful and <strong>colorful</strong><br />
painting!<br />
To a happy future!<br />
ASIA COLUMN<br />
marlene.it marlene marlene.apple<br />
<strong>NSFM</strong> COLORFUL | 87
A fruitful partnership is<br />
about growing together.