Following year of adjustment and investment, Dutch group focuses on expanded production and new economies of scale
Dutch cooperative The Greenery has reported a €4mn loss on sales of €675mn for 2025, but says it is now emerging from a “transitional” year with a new five-year plan to foster future expansion.
Adjusted for one-off restructuring and transition costs, it said, the operating result was around €0.3mn, a result it said was in line with its 2024 figure.
During its annual general meeting last week, The Greenery presented its financial results to members and launched a growth strategy for the next five years.
Over the past year, the company has apparently invested heavily in the renewal of its ICT infrastructure, concentrated all logistics at a single location in Barendrecht, and discontinued activities that no longer contribute to its core mission of maximising value creation for member growers.
“We consciously chose focus over volume. By divesting from activities that do not contribute to the optimal marketing of our growers’ products, our revenue may have changed, but its quality has improved significantly,” said CEO David Markowski, whose contract has been extended.
The Greenery’s net result for 2025 amounted to more than €17mn, while profit distribution to members this year amounts to nearly €6mn, which will apparently be supplemented later this year by a loyalty contribution.
“The result is a financially healthy organisation with a strong proposition for growers and customers, control over costs, and room to grow further,” Markowski added. “The fact that we are distributing profits to our members for the sixth consecutive year – and at the highest level since our founding – proves that this course works.”
Strategic scale
The group’s 2030 growth plan puts growers at the heart of everything it does, it added, noting that growth was not an end in itself, but scale would enable it to remain relevant to customers in future.
That means substantial growth in crops it produces itself, something it said it would achieve through a mix of expansion with existing members and the recruitment of new growers.
Such growth in scale would make it possible to reduce the members’ net sales contribution to 1 per cent by 2030, offering “greater security and better service at structurally lower costs”, it added.
It also plans to stimulate growth by supporting members with a new investment fund for acreage expansion, a scheme that will launch in the second quarter of 2026.
Through the fund, it will provide loans and equity participation to growers who wish to expand.
At the same time, the cooperative will expand its collaboration with strategic international customers through FreshAlliance, the producer organisation it has established together with Belgian group BelOrta.
Board appointments
The general meeting unanimously approved the reappointment of Niels Zuurbier as chairman of The Greenery’s supervisory board for a new four-year term.
Maartje de Boer will join as a new supervisory board member, succeeding Nancy Peeters, who stepped down after nine years.
De Boer is an open-field entrepreneur with a financial background at Rabobank and Deloitte.
“Putting the grower first – that is the anchor of everything we do and the foundation of our strategy,” Zuurbier commented. “The strategy we have established requires strong leadership: someone who believes in the vision, dares to provide direction, and is capable of actually realising plans.
“With David on board, we are choosing a leader who not only stays the course but also knows how to bring the organisation and our members along in this development. His commitment and conviction inspire confidence that we will consistently and successfully realize this ambition in the coming years.”
