Westfalia Fruit welcomes new Customer Development team to boost avocado market growth

Multinational avocado and fresh produce supplier Westfalia Fruit presented a new Customer Development team, as the company aims to strengthen marketing, category management, and growth strategy.

Dani Busseni will act as Global Head of Customer Marketing and Development.

“The team will be working closely with leading retailers and foodservice operators to uncover and develop new opportunities in both fresh and fresh convenience segments,” Busseni says.

The newly formed division includes Elena Ozeritskaya as Insight Manager, who will lead market intelligence and data-driven analysis; Ryan Brits as Category Manager responsible for end-to-end strategy development; and Aurélie Lamotte as Customer Development Manager, focusing on strategic execution and local market implementation.

“The team's goal is to unlock latent demand for avocados and avocado-based products by better understanding consumers, shoppers, customers, and supply dynamics,” explains Wim Destoop, Chief Customer Officer at Westfalia Fruit.

Customer-led approach targets growth opportunities for Westfalia

Westfalia's new strategy focuses on creating market opportunities through insight-driven action, rather than relying solely on organic growth, the firm says. The Customer Development team will seek to connect supply-side realities with demand-side opportunities across markets.

“We analyze customer data but also develop thought leadership and insights that help retailers understand growth opportunities they might be missing,” says Ozeritskaya. “We're seeing strong appetite for plant-based nutrition, and functional foods, as well as a growing interest in fresh convenience avocado products.”

Recent initiatives include developing global market demand models for guacamole, avocado oil, and frozen avocado.

“Building on previous successes, our role is to maximize demand and ensure the full crop finds a high-value, sustainable home,” explains Brits.

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