Over the past year, Merqato made significant strides. Jan-Willem Snoeker, founder and CEO, says: “We have a good team, and we have investors and customers who want to continue with us. We are now building on that. We have had our newest investor, Smarter Ventures, since Q4 of 2024. They have a Venture Growth programme, through which they help companies move forward in specific areas, such as sales acquisition. That helps us with the further development of Merqato.”
International market
The fruit and vegetable market is international by nature: produce comes from different parts of Europe and the world depending on the season. Last year, Jan-Willem told ROM InWest that Merqato wants to become the European data company in the fruit and vegetable market. And it is moving in the right direction. Merqato can now make forecasts for more products - recently including tomatoes and peppers. And no longer only in the Netherlands.
Jan-Willem Snoeker: “International exposure is important. Moreover, our solution works in several countries and innovative companies want to join us across the border. We now work together with customers in Germany, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. In Spain, for instance, this is SanLucar, a wholesaler with its own productions in Spain and South America. For them, we do databased predictions on blueberries.”
Pride & advice
In the past year, the way Jan-Willem looks at entrepreneurship changed. For instance, he is now always concerned with consistent growth. Jan-Willem: “It has become a way of thinking. In everything we do, we think ‘does it contribute to our consistent growth?’ If not, it might not be something to do now.” That also plays into the fact that as a startup, you have to keep adjusting to survive. Jan-Willem: “You have to continuously innovate while maintaining quality. We do that as a team and I am proud of that.”
What advice can he pass on to fellow entrepreneurs? “Sail more on your gut. On your intuition. Especially highly educated people sometimes analyse a lot, leaving you in an endless circle of doubt. Sometimes you just have to act.”
Look ahead
“Now that we are also booming internationally, it is good to take another look at the strategy,” Jan-Willem says. “Making sure our product is a good fit for the market in every country. We need to look at which people we need for that and what funding.” We look with pride at Merqato's development and look forward to their next step of growth.
Food heroes as Merqato are essential for North Holland's economic development and innovation. Are you also a food hero? Look here for the Business Innovation Program Food (BIPF) or contact Stef Mellema. Who knows, we might be able to help you further.
