Gerrit de Bruijne Sustainable Potatoes From Farm-to-Fork

1. Gerrit de Bruijne: Sustainable Potatoes From Farm-to-Fork To all the potato lovers - be it crinkly cut or straight cut, be it spicy, salty, or ‘the usual’, be it short, fat, tall, and skinny, be it included in various other dishes or standalone, Potatoes will always be tasty and appetizing in whichever form and size they come in. What makes it delicious is how it’s cultivated, grown, manufactured, selected, processed, packaged, and distributed. With love and care, anything can grow beautifully and deliciously. From farm to fork, this vegetable comes in more than 800,000. Being a truly tasty nutritious staple product in the food production industry, Potatoes are an antioxidant that is rich in the Vitamin C group. Potatoes contain other essential nutrients like - Vitamin B6 and Phytonutrients, minerals like - Phosphorus, Zinc, Iron, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, and Manganese, Protein, Fibres, Carbohydrates, and Fats. Establishing sustainability goals in Farming Practices and Agriculture is essential in this day and age. With all of our natural resources depleting rapidly as the years pass by, Agricultural Sustainability is the norm. It adopts, incorporates, integrates, and implements certain practices alongside the appropriate tools and resources to ensure that natural resources remain in supply for the people in the future. Consumer awareness is very important as the factors and steps that are involved in farming, manufacturing, and processing, as well as in packaging and distributing, the potato cultivation is a phase that determines the quality of the produce that will reach your plate - good or bad. Therefore in this article, we shall explore the journey and story about one such business that has been actively running its operations in the food and beverage industry for potato cultivation in The Netherlands. Gerrit de Bruijne - Founder of Farm Frites: The founder of Farm Frites - a Food and Beverage Manufacturing Company is Gerrit de Bruijne. Farm Frites was founded in the year 1971 after Gerrit de Bruijne was inspired to start this company after a visit to The United States of America. During his visit, the founder noticed and realized the importance and essentiality of including potato fries in almost every fast food dish on the streets and in restaurants in the country. Seeing how many businesses in the market made with the manufacturing, processing, and production of potato cultivation alone motivated Gerrit.

2. Upon Gerrit de Bruijne’s arrival back at Oudenhoorn, The Netherlands - he started his delicious journey of potato cultivation in sustainable practices. The company was initially an autonomous and family-owned business called Farm Frites. Farm Frites: Farm Frites is a Food and Beverage Manufacturing and Processing company that cultivates potatoes. Founded by Gerrit de Bruijne, it has its headquarters established in Oudenhoorn, The Netherlands. “Enjoy the Fresh Taste of the Land.” The various Potato selection dishes that Farm Frites manufactures and sells are - Chef’s Harvest, Chef’s Specials Crispy Coated, Sweet Potato Fries, Finest, Originals, and Appetizers, for every occasion, mood, and situation. Having its roots in a vast supply chain, Farm Frites’ partners help the business in its operations in Delivery, Takeaway, and Bulk Distribution, or Wholesale Distribution of Frozen potato fries. Cultivating potatoes is a daily routine for Farm Frites, growing around 1.5 million tonnes of the vegetable yearly to distribute orders of over 80 varied potato types. Now having over a 1,500-member workforce, Farm Frites has expanded to 100+ countries in other areas of Europe and internationally as well. For more interesting reads on diverse topics, visit The Europe Entrepreneur. Operating in 5 facilities - The Netherlands (headquarters), Egypt, Poland, Belgium, and Argentina, there are over 700 cultivators of the vegetable in these countries as well as the sales team monitoring and leading the manufacturing and processing of the potatoes are done in around 40 sales offices present around the world. Farm Frites has traveled a long way from just being a small family startup to a full-blown business franchise present globally. Distributing their frozen fries to chefs, guests, and consumers, is the main driver and passionate goal of the company. Taking the cultural importance of diverse communities wherever they go, Farm Frites is dedicated to serving its people with the best taste and look of their fries. Cultivating over 10 varieties of potatoes from their farms around the world, the business manufactures and processes around 80 diverse types and kinds of potato dishes, with complete recipes provided for some of them on the official website.

3. Vision Statement - “Growing together, from potatoes to happy faces.” Having a workforce that has most employees already well-versed in potato cultivation, agriculture, and sustainable farming practices, ensures that the vegetable is being grown in the right and skillful hands for a delicious farm-to-fork experience. In sustainable farming and agriculture, Farm Frites adopts tools and resources for better caring and cultivating of their farms. Tools like Agro ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) are used and managing experts are called on-field to make important decisions for and in the said farming practices. Intending to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and over-consumption of natural resources, Farm Frites joins hands with the world for greener futures by sustainably making use of renewable energy like - Wind, Hydro, Bio-Energy, and Solar. Maintaining good soil health, potato cultivation is known as the ‘greenest crops’ for being one of the top best in water management. Minimal plastics used in their packaging and distribution also are one of the strategies and actions used by the enterprise in its packing solutions journey toward a better tomorrow, delivering tasty fries sustainably.