The Greenery and BelOrta launch partner­ship

The collaboration between BelOrta and The Greenery has officially started. The Belgian and Dutch grower cooperatives have received recognition as a Transnational Union of Producer Organizations (TUPO). This formally establishes FreshAlliance. Both organizations are aiming to strengthen their position in the European retail market.

Joint market approach

BelOrta and The Greenery have been in talks about collaboration since 2024. A formal recognition procedure followed the announcement. This process has now been completed, allowing the partnership to begin.

According to BelOrta CEO Philippe Appeltans, the collaboration offers benefits for growers and customers. “This is good news for our growers and our customers.” By working together, a larger and broader assortment is created. For certain products, this can add value when dealing with major European retail chains.

Collaboration on costs and expertise

The partnership focuses on areas where it adds value. These include sustainability, innovation, data, and licenses. Appeltans: “Think, for example, of access licenses for certain vegetables or fruit. That is very expensive.” By obtaining these jointly, costs can be shared across multiple growers. Digitalization and big data analysis will also be tackled together to spread and reduce costs.

No merger, but collaboration

The partnership does not mean a merger between the two organizations. BelOrta and The Greenery will continue to operate independently and retain their cooperative structure.

“Both producer organizations maintain their cooperative roots and independence. If collaboration does not offer synergy for certain topics or product groups, we simply won’t do it,” said Appeltans.

In the coming period, the parties will assess, per topic and product group, where collaboration will be implemented.

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