"You can buy fresh products like this anywhere," I thought at that time. "The reality is actually quite different"the previous owner only had small volumes and no location. I needed to find a premises, presses, cooling, transport and personnel. It was difficult in the beginning because I needed to produce along with visiting customers. I hired employees after a half a year and supplied to more and more catering customers. The name Charlies Juices has become very well known in this world and we have been a fixed supplier for many catering events in Belgium for years now. My location was in Brussels in the beginning, close to the early market. We could collect the fresh products early in the morning and supply in the evenings."
Growing range
"We also had two other locations in Belgium along with the one in Brussels. We produce products under three brands, Charles Juice, Fruit Time and JusFrais. We eventually marketed these brands under the Juicy Group concern. There was too much internal transport at one point and we looked to find a new location in the area of Gent. We have been localised in Erpe-Mere for the last 4.5 years. We grew and our assortment of brands expanded. We only had the basic juices but once we started to get the larger chains as customers, we were able to add more flavours to our range. We now have a juice program of 10 to 12 flavours and we introduce one to two new juices per season for specific customers. These are then taste tested and evaluated. Naturally, we need to be able to guarantee a certain volume before that we start to produce something. Pomegranate juice is new in our juice program. Our fruit juices are healthy, natural and are made of 100% fruit. Alongside that, we have expanded our range over the years with smoothies and fruit salads. At the moment, we offer the brands Charlies Juice and Pure. The Pure brand is the more exclusive range. We work under their own labels for some of our customers. We also blow our own bottles to keep production costs as low as possible. Something that we can't save on is the quality of the products. That has to be good. Everything that we supply has to meet top quality standards. I would like to hear people say: "You make a good product," this is the most important thing to me. Our most requested flavours continue to be orange and pomelo; these are standard in many hotels. Besides that, there is raspberry and strawberry which are also two best sellers."
Trust
The focus of The Juicy Group is on catering. "The people in this branch have known us for years. It is more difficult to convince other markets, such as retail. Retail is a completely different market and it has not yet taken off to be able to serve them because we are relatively unknown. It is possibly something for the future. We distinguish ourselves with our quality and flexibility. The cooperation in our team is going well and our buyers can always count on us. We have created a band of trust over the years. Customers can order our products up until three o'clock in the afternoon and they are delivered the same day. The advantage is that our buyers don't have to keep too much stock. The shelf life of the fruit juices and smoothies is around 10 days. We have done some testing in regards to a longer shelf life with an additive from Electric Pulshock, but there weren't enough customers who were interested so it wasn't pursued." The Juicy Group tries to offer set prices. "We want to keep these stable and go with the fluctuation in the market. I guarantee the prices we have now until the end of 2014. This helps build trust."
Yves sees a gradual increase in various products. "We are not talking about a sudden boost, but it has been growing gradually. The fruit salads are also doing well. Customers can order products separately or create their own mixes. This happens purely on request from the customer. We have seen a growth in 'dry' fruit salads over the years. Much less is being supplied in juice. The fruit specialist sees a sunny future. "I hope to be able to book in better results with each year. Up to now, we have seen constant growth which is why we have been able to invest. We will be buying new machines again. Growing with the market is very important. Alongside that, I keep very close contact with my customer. I know how my company is and have experienced all the links in the chain. It is my ambition to be able to continue with such passion for years."
