Citrus with character

A slice of lemon in your glass, a mandarin in your lunchbox, citrus has become so common, we almost forget how much work goes into it. Yet behind every piece of fruit lies a story. The story of the grower, the customer, and also of our colleagues Daaf and Evert Jan. They handle the citrus range at Chainn every single day. And that goes far beyond just moving boxes.

Daaf sees it everywhere: citrus is just part of life. “It’s a kitchen staple. People expect it. So we need to make sure it’s always available, and always good.” That may sound simple, but it’s anything but. The bar is set high.

Evert Jan says it’s no longer just about color or shape. “Taste still matters, of course, but food safety is just as important. Europe has strict rules about what is and isn’t allowed. And rightly so, controls are tight.” He sees growers and traders responding better and better to this, but it requires effort across the whole supply chain.

Smart supply chain moves
And it’s exactly that supply chain where Chainn makes a difference. We spread our sourcing smartly across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, allowing us to deliver citrus all year round. “When the season in Spain ends, we shift to South Africa,” Daaf explains. “And even within those regions, we rely on different production areas.”

The result? Always fresh citrus, directly from grower to customer. “We try to skip as many links in the chain as possible,” says Evert Jan. “No unnecessary stops or storage. That benefits both flavor and quality.”

Flavour comes first
And flavor is becoming more and more important. “Retailers no longer look only at price or appearance,” Daaf says. “They want taste. Customers want to know that the mandarin tastes good and that it will again next time.”

For us, that’s not a trend, but a direction. Together with our growers, we keep searching for the best product, at just the right time. And ideally: all year round.