U.K.-based soft fruit specialist BerryWorld and Dutch company Beekers Holding BV are building on the success of their BerryWorld Europe 10-year joint venture with plans to consolidate next month.

BerryWorld says the combination will provide a platform from for growing the BerryWorld European business in 2018 and beyond.

“This consolidation of our joint venture into a single business is the next step in the highly successful evolution of BerryWorld Europe,” said Wil Beekers, managing director of BerryWorld Europe.

“Our team is looking to the future direction of the business and we’re excited about the emerging possibilities that the European market offers.

“As a grower, I am pleased that the combined business will be able to take advantage of the synergies in demand for our market-leading package of strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and blueberry varieties across our customer base. There is potential for household penetration growth in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe."

BerryWorld Group managing director of Adam Olins emphasizes how the U.K. market has led berry growth and product innovation over the past decade.

“As a result, the U.K. berry market is more developed and mature,” he said. “The total value of the European soft fruit market is currently three times that of the U.K. on the back of significantly lower penetration for all berry types. We see enormous potential, therefore, in a number of EU territories.

“Combining our BerryWorld Europe team makes perfect sense as we continue to grow the BerryWorld brand across the EU. Wil and I are delighted with the team’s success so far and we’re looking forward to continued growth over the coming years."

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