Bart Leemans‘ Vision for Service2Fruit: Redefining the Fruit and Vegetable Industry
Background in the Food and Agri Sector
Bart's career began in the international hospitality industry after completing his studies at the Maastricht Hotel School. After his studies he found himself on a new trajectory, transitioning to commercial roles within the food industry. When he became the commercial director for Fruitmasters and Koppert Cress, he used his knowledge from the hospitality industry to take advantage of input markets (such as ingredient) that supply restaurants and hotels. Next to his commercial activities he wants to drive positive change and leave this world as a better place. At S2F Bart found the perfect combination where he embraces the companies mission: “Always a fair deal.”
Experience as Director
As the new Director of Service2Fruit, Bart quickly adapted to his role and found satisfaction in overcoming new challenges. Building relationships, understanding team dynamics, and engaging stakeholders have been paramount in his early days. Bart utilizes his network to uncover opportunities and create mutually beneficial outcomes. He believes in empowering people; allowing them to make mistakes while being held accountable. In his own words, he adheres to the principle of being "rigorous when it comes to the quality of the content and compassionate towards the people involved.", Bart experiences some reservations regarding traditional titles such as CEO or Director, perceiving them as somewhat antiquated. He places more importance on being evaluated based on how people perceive him rather than being defined by his title.
Service2Fruit
S2F aims to foster direct communication between growers and buyers, creating a fair trading platform that benefits everyone involved. The platform offers four essential services. Firstly, it ensures transparency in the value chain by publishing all transactions (incl. prices, and quantities). Secondly, the cost of using the platform is a fixed commission per KG (as opposed to a % of the value), which means the platform has no incentive to influence prices. Thirdly, through an escrow account the platform provides financial security. As a grower or buyer, you either have money or product. Finally, S2F has an experienced and independent team of trade experts that facilitate deals on the platform. With these benefits, Bart explains that it is more beneficial to work with S2F: “In the agricultural sector, while ample product knowledge exists, navigating sales strategies for growers can be challenging. After initial sales have been conducted, a surplus is left for the farmer. They face the choice of establishing their own sales mechanism through a commission agent, cooperation, an auction, or to us! At S2F, we believe in transparent value chains, ensuring fair market prices for producers while minimizing unnecessary costs imposed by intermediaries. It is a widely acknowledged that intermediaries often claim a significant portion of the value, but our mission is to foster a more balanced distribution within the supply chain. Our track record substantiates this approach and shows the added value compared to traditional sales mechanisms: Through our platform, growers on average enjoy higher average kilo prices compared to traditional channels.” As a result, Quite often Service2Fruit is leading in setting the market price for Conference pears.
Future Plans and Goals
The value proposition of S2F has many advantages, as evidenced by positive feedback and sales. In light of this, Bart has set two ambitious goals for the future of S2F. His first goal is to prioritize promotion and widespread availability of the S2F platform. To do this, he works together with organizations of fruit growers and collaborates in both local and international markets, specifically for hard fruits. A good example of this is the recent collaboration with the fruit auction Zaltbommel (follow link here). Bart understands that it's not easy to get people interested in something new, so he emphasizes the importance of making people aware of the platform. He aptly captures this sentiment by stating: "unknown makes unloved."
His second goal is to leverage the platform to expand into new markets and explore opportunities in different product groups. To accomplish this, it is crucial to identify markets that share similarities with the hard fruit market. Markets that benefit from transparency, security of payment, and independent expertise from an external sales team are ideal fits for the platform. Examples of comparable dynamics include flower bulbs, potatoes, and onions. With the support of Anders Invest, Bart sees endless possibilities for national and international expansion: “The goal is to become the Bol.com of the fruit and vegetable sector.”
Conclusion
Under the leadership of Bart Leemans, S2F is infused with a fresh wave of enthusiasm and commitment to establishing a fair and transparent market for growers. Bart's ambition and vision foresee limitless opportunities for the platform to expand and generate exceptional financial returns. By making strategic investments and capitalizing on the boundless possibilities, S2F aims to redefine the fruit and vegetable industry.
