Special Fruit NV partners with Agrinorm, agrotech startup

Equipped With Deeply Enhanced Data Provided by Agrinorm, Special Fruit NV To Deliver Even Higher Quality Produces While Reducing Costs and Environmental Footprint
 Meer, Belgium, 02/10/2022—Special Fruit NV, a company based in Meer, Belgium, committed to sustainable fresh produce sourcing and delivery, announces today that it has formed a partnership with Agrinorm. The worldwide distributor of a wide-ranging assortment of fruit and vegetable plans to collect data about the produce freshness and quality upstream the supply chain and consequently meet customers’ expectations better while reducing costs.
Founded in 1990 by François Maes and Patrick Maes and presently steered by CEO Bert Barmans, Special Fruit NV is fully committed to  Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives such as the Sustainability Initiative Fruit and Vegetable (SIFAV) and strengthens its intention to continue to innovate to best meet customer needs. It constantly seeks tools and processes that allow the company to focus on quality control in novel ways using the industry’s latest technology. In Agrinorm, it believes to have found such a partner.

What does Agrinorm provide, and how does it do it?

The agtech provides a set of user-friendly tools for inspectors and surveyors from farm gate to retail. Its AI-powered data analytics platform tailored to fresh produce industry makes it easier to identify trends, spot improvement opportunities, keep quality and commercial teams on the same page, and make sure that the right products are allocated to the right customers.

A first in the sector and a game-changer is how Agrinorm enables companies to manage quality together with their supply chain partners. Daria Reisch, the Co-founder of Agrinorm said, « The key to success is in the ability of companies to collaborate and exchange information with each other. A farmer should know which variety performs best, so he can plant more of it next year. And a distributor should see if it rained in the field, so he can predict the shelf-life and choose the right channel. Quality management is the new source of competitive advantage for fresh produce companies. Those who manage to prevent quality issues will have lower costs, more negligible environmental impact, and desired by the customers. « 

Bert Barmans said, « If you discover quality issues when product is at your warehouse, it is often too late to resolve them. We are strengthening our collaboration with suppliers to ensure already at the origin that only compliant products are shipped and that our customers will get the right quality. »

More information
Special Fruit supplies excellent berries, exotics, unique vegetables, and an assortment of specialties to shop owners, supermarket chains, wholesalers, hotels, caterers, and other large consumers throughout Europe. The company has 11,500 m2 of storage with variable, energy-efficient, and sustainable cooling. The company employs 190 internationally oriented staff members, specializing in logistics, fruit handling, sales, finance, and quality control. It operates two fully equipped facilities: its headquarters in Belgium and a subsidiary in Spain. As of 2021, its turnover is over € 170 million and increasing steadily. Currently, the customer base spans 28 countries, while suppliers are found in all six continents. Special Fruit reaches any spot in Europe within 48 hours with its highly competent and hyper-specialized team. It prides itself in being able to service all-important centers within 24 hours.
Visit https://www.specialfruit.be
Agirnorm, an agtech startup headquartered in Zurich, was launched in 2019 by Daria Reisch and Sharon Wulff. The company’s core competence is in measuring fresh produce quality and using AI. It aspires to make technology serve big and small fresh produce companies and help them prevent quality issues to become more profitable and competitive while reducing their environmental footprint. Agrinorm modern platform makes it easy to capture quality information and exchange it with suppliers and customers and among themselves. Its tailored-to-fresh produce sector metrics and AI predictions help to stay in control of quality, identify issues and their causes promptly, and match the right quality to the right customer for the best commercial result.
Visit https://www.agrinorm.com