The fresh chains of meat, dairy, vegetables and fruit are faced with 3 major dilemmas, according to research by the EFMI Business School. They draw these conclusions on the basis of 4 practical situations: Kipster meat, the sustainable dairy chain of Albert Heijn and A-ware, fruit and vegetables with the label 'On the way to PlanetProof' and pork from the Hamletz concept.
The 3 dilemmas they mainly encounter are: scalability versus distinctiveness, sustainability versus affordability and fixed structures versus flexibility.
Broad sustainability
In order to achieve broad sustainability in the fresh food chains, it is important that as many players as possible participate in that chain. However, the scaling up of sustainable concepts also puts pressure on distinctiveness. Sustainability also means that additional costs are incurred in the chain. This is either at the expense of affordability for consumers or affordability for chain players.
The fresh food chains also have to deal with the dilemma that a close joint effort (commitment), when entering into long-term cooperation, quickly leads to permanent structures. These fixed structures stand in the way of flexibility, while flexibility is increasingly required.
Hamletz and A-Ware
The 'Hamletz' concept is valued above average in the EFMI Business School study in terms of added value. The pork chain clearly goes one step further, for example because it contains 1 stars in the Beter Leven quality mark. The experts expect that the pig farmer will also benefit from this concept. They see the marketing of a concept as the challenge for the pig farmer, because marketing is usually not a core competence.
With regard to the sustainable dairy chain of Albert Heijn and Royal A-ware, the conclusion is drawn that the dairy farmers involved benefit less than dairy processor A-ware and Albert Heijn. When asked who benefits, dairy farmers score an average of 6,9. This while dairy processor A-ware scores a 7,3 and Albert Heijn a 7,9.
Stronger in a chain
Strategic cooperation in the chain has received a lot of attention in recent years, especially in the pig sector, perhaps because it is less common than in other agri-food sectors. According to Jos Goebbels, the chairman of the Central Organization for the Meat Sector (COV), the economic and social challenges for the Dutch meat sector can only be tackled effectively through stronger chain links.
"Following the veal sector, the pig farming sector will also set up a new chain organization in order to achieve common goals in the field of the environment, animal health and welfare," said Goebbels at the General Members' Meeting in Utrecht in February of this year. According to the EFMI Business School, mutual trust is an important condition for strategic chain cooperation.
In good and bad times
When Goebbels, on behalf of the European meat industry, emergency bell said about the rapidly rising pig price, Linda Janssen, the chair of the Producers Organization Pig Farming (POV) reacted as follows: "Pig meat prices are finally high and the pig farmer can compensate for the losses incurred. The pig sector also has periods with significantly lower prices and then we don't hear from these parties. If prices are low for a long time, these parties in the chain do not wonder whether risks can be distributed throughout the entire chain."
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