A neighboring greenhouse came up for sale, so when strawberry grower Hendrik Satter of Starberry from Nieuwaal, Netherlands, had the opportunity to take over the neighboring Artisan orchid greenhouse, he was immediately interested. They reached an agreement, and last week the expansion was celebrated. The first strawberry plants will enter the new greenhouse in December.
This brings Starberry's total acreage of strawberries under glass to 6.5 hectares—a new milestone for Satter, who started his business in 2008, grew chrysanthemums for 10 years and switched to strawberry cultivation in 2018. For many years, Satter was affiliated with FruitMasters, but this year, he is entering the market independently with his own brand for the first time. "We're focusing entirely on Dutch supermarkets. They were asking for more product, so the expansion was very timely for us."
"The current strawberry crop is in its final phase. We have about two or three more weeks of production, and then the season will end," Hendrik says. This year, he grew the Lady Emma variety for the first time, after cultivating Elsanta for many years. The results with this everbearing variety were very satisfactory. "With Elsanta, it was always the case that you had to make your profit in the spring. If spring went well, the season was great; if not, the season wasn't either. We didn't want to be limited to the spring peak, so we started growing everbearers like Lady Emma. That decision turned out very well. The variety has a great taste, produces fantastic yields, and the percentage of Class I strawberries is much higher than with Elsanta." 
"Our supermarket customers also love the variety, and as a grower, it's rewarding to receive appreciation for your product. We do everything we can to excel in quality. Every day, we ask questions like: what is the secret to the strawberry? What temperature does it prefer? When does it need water, and what does it respond well to? Cultivation is part of it, but that's just the beginning. By picking strawberries at peak ripeness and keeping the supply chain short, we can make the biggest difference," Hendrik says. "The exciting thing is that, with our own brand and packaging, we can now highlight that distinction."
In terms of pricing, Hendrik says this year's strawberry season went well. "We had good prices throughout the year, except for a dip during the summer holidays. This is also due to the trend of growers cultivating more everbearers. Previously, there would be a massive influx of strawberries when Elsanta production hit the market in April and May, creating a high risk of oversupply. With everbearers, production is spread over a longer period, which has led to a better distribution of products. This allows customers to rely on your product and extend the sales period."
For more information
Hendrik Satter
Starberry
Hogeweg 14a
5313 BA Nieuwaal
Tel: +31 88 188 1799
[email protected]
www.starberry.nl