Companies have announced a strategic alliance designed to deliver a seamless 12-month supply of premium mandarins to European retailers
Leading brand-driven citrus company Bollo Natural Fruit (BNF) and South Africa-based ClemenGold International have announced a strategic partnership that aims to reshape how premium mandarins are supplied to European retailers.
The alliance brings together two powerful, complementary producers, namely Bollo’s strong Northern Hemisphere production base and deep integration with Europe’s top retailers, and ClemenGold’s extensive South African grower network and global citrus expertise.
According to a joint statement, the partners will offer retailers a seamless, 12-month supply of premium mandarins, backed by direct grower relationships, consistent quality and full supply chain transparency.
The two companies said that at the heart of the partnership is a shared commitment to simplifying the supply chain.
Antonio Alarcon Alzugaray, Bollo Natural Fruit CEO, said the traditional supply chain adds costs and commissions at each link without providing any added value to the consumer.
“Each intermediary increases the final price, which reduces competitiveness compared to more direct models,” he explained.
”This partnership allows us to offer retailers a smarter, more efficient alternative – one that is closer to the grower and closer to the consumer.”
BNF is one of Europe’s leading producers, exporters and importers of fruit, and will play a leading role in strengthening citrus programmes across key European retail markets.
In both cases, the companies employ leading growing and packing techniques, have access to superior varieties and control of the entire supply chain.
“Their respective brands, Bollo and ClemenGold, deliver on their quality promise, making them some of the most respected and recognised fruit brands in the world,” the statement continued.
ClemenGold International brings a strong Southern Hemisphere foundation to the partnership, backed by an extensive ecosystem of growers across South Africa’s main citrus production regions.
“Our own and partnering farms spread across Limpopo, Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape, delivering quality harvests for an extended production season, supplying fruit from April to October,” ClemenGold said.
”Furthermore, ClemenGold International’s platform is fully compliant in terms of some of the world’s most stringent accreditations as requested by major retailers worldwide.”
Nico van Schalkwyk, ClemenGold International CEO, said the company has vast experience and success in global fruit supply and branding, supported by farms and packhouses that are able to deliver citrus of the highest quality, consistently.
“This is not just about combining volumes though,” he outlined. ”It’s about unifying two citrus leaders around a shared purpose – to deliver a consistently better, more reliable and more sustainable mandarin programme for global retail at sustainable grower returns.”
According to the statement, the partnership is ”built on collaboration rather than competition”.
Bollo and ClemenGold will continue strengthening existing retail and grower relationships through counter seasonal supply, while creating new opportunities through shared scale, coordinated branding and aligned quality standards.
“This solution driven partnership will also leverage their combined marketing teams to strengthen brand presence and customer engagement and enable the retail trade to reach their longterm growth objectives,” the statement concluded.
