Commercial manager Dick Donker takes on new trade and wholesale role, while Christian Schouten heads up overseas business
Dutch company Fruitful Ventures is to place all of its European trading activities within its Olympic Fruit division, while it repositions another subsidiary, Freshpride, to focus on markets outside Europe.
Effective 1 January 2026, Freshpride’s European operations will be transferred to Olympic Fruit, allowing it to work fully in Asia, the Middle East, and other long-distance markets.
Olympic Fruit, in the meantime, will concentrate on further expansion in Europe.
“This move allows us to join forces and further expand the expertise of both companies,” says Dick Donker, current commercial manager of Freshpride, who will lead Olympic Fruit’s new combined trade and wholesale operation. “The decision to serve our European customers with a single, specialised team is a logical move.”
Responsibility for Freshpride will transfer to Christian Schouten, who is already responsible for the group’s Hoofdman-Roodzant business, and is now expanding his portfolio to include the Middle East and Far East.
As commercial manager of Olympic Fruit, Rob Bras retains responsibility for overall management and its other departments. “We’ve been operating in the European market for almost 25 years,” he comments. “That experience gives us confidence in this step.”
Until now, both companies have been active in different parts of Europe – Freshpride primarily in south-east Europe, and Olympic Fruit with an emphasis on the north-west region.
For Freshpride, there is now an opportunity to grow overseas, operating from purchasing and sales offices in the Netherlands, Serbia, South Africa, and Singapore.
“Thanks to our local presence and colleagues who know the market inside and out, we can serve customers there excellently,” Donker adds. “We want to further strengthen this position in the coming years.”
He believes the new arrangement will feel familiar to all. “We’ve been working at the same location in Barendrecht for years and often visit each other,” he says. “That’s truly the strength of our group: everyone has their own expertise, but together we serve the market better and grow faster.”
