Grozette fully compensates for loss in demand

Grozette, a producer of grated and powder cheese, mainly supplies caterers, supermarkets and food producers in more than 30 countries worldwide. Despite the corona pandemic, the company was more than able to more than compensate for the drop in demand from caterers, due to the increased demand from supermarkets and food producers.

Ewald Bontje, Managing Director of Grozette: "We process more than 50 different types of cheese in our producers. When the health situation in Italy deteriorated rapidly in February, we placed additional orders with our suppliers of Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano and Pecorino, so we were sure we would have sufficient stock. At the beginning of March we took several measures within the company in line with RIVM regulations. We are in the process of constructing new buildings on the site next to ours. Discussions with the municipality and the architect suddenly all have to be held online as well, and that's actually going fine".

More demand from the food industry

"On 15 March, all caterers had to close their doors. The food service companies are the smallest group for us in terms of turnover. At the same time, there was a run on supermarkets. Much of our straw cheese has a shelf life and was therefore hammered. Demand from supermarkets rose by around 15 percent in these two weeks. Our largest, and most international, sales channel is food producers. Here we saw demand increase by about 5 percent, for example from producers of frozen pizzas. That's where we supply our five-ilo bags of spreading cheese," says Bontje.

Scaling up production

"All in all, we were more than able to more than compensate for the drop in demand from caterers with the increased demand from supermarkets and food producers. We've scaled up our production lines from a two-shift to a three-shift system during the week, and we've also started working at weekends. A number of office employees have joined in the production".

Question comes up again

"We now see that demand is stabilizing again. We deliver a lot in China, Japan and Taiwan, and we are seeing the number of orders currently coming back on track; they are a step further in the course of the epidemic. The Asian customers are asking for extra stock because life is getting back on track there. Fortunately, we have not noticed any traffic jams at the European borders or administrative obstacles in recent weeks. What helps is that the food industry in all EU countries has been designated a vital sector. Suppliers must continue to supply, also to customers abroad.

More information: https://insights.abnamro.nl