{"id":8237,"date":"2025-09-12T10:27:45","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T08:27:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rominwest.nl\/?post_type=inspiratie&p=8237"},"modified":"2025-10-17T15:32:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T13:32:21","slug":"how-is-merqato-now","status":"publish","type":"inspiratie","link":"https:\/\/rominwest.nl\/en\/nieuws\/hoe-is-het-nu-met-merqato\/","title":{"rendered":"How is Merqato doing now?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past year, Merqato made significant strides. Jan-Willem Snoeker, founder and CEO, says: \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

International market<\/h4>\n

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<\/a> 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.
\nJan-Willem Snoeker: \u201cInternational 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pride & advice<\/h4>\n

In the past year, the way Jan-Willem looks at entrepreneurship changed. For instance, he is now always concerned with consistent growth. Jan-Willem: \u201cIt has become a way of thinking. In everything we do, we think \u2018does it contribute to our consistent growth?\u2019 If not, it might not be something to do now.\u201d That also plays into the fact that as a startup, you have to keep adjusting to survive. Jan-Willem: \u201cYou have to continuously innovate while maintaining quality. We do that as a team and I am proud of that.\u201d
\nWhat advice can he pass on to fellow entrepreneurs? \u201cSail 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Look ahead<\/h4>\n

\u201cNow that we are also booming internationally, it is good to take another look at the strategy,\u201d Jan-Willem says. \u201cMaking 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.\u201d We look with pride at Merqato's development and look forward to their next step of growth.<\/p>\n

Food heroes as Merqato<\/a> 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)<\/a> or contact Stef Mellema. Who knows, we might be able to help you further.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Merqato, participant of Business Innovation Program Food (BIPF) in 2024, is developing smart AI software to help fruit and vegetable wholesalers reduce waste. Worldwide, between 20 and 30 per cent of fresh fruit and vegetables are lost before they reach shops. This is because wholesalers are not yet making optimal use of the available data: what are they producing versus what is being sold? Merqato links production and sales figures to weather forecasts, for example. This makes the chain more predictable and reduces waste. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":8238,"template":"","tags":[51,72,128],"soort-insp":[75],"class_list":["post-8237","inspiratie","type-inspiratie","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bipf","tag-innoveren","tag-ondernemers-versterken","soort-insp-interview"],"yoast_head":"\nHoe is het nu met Merqato? - ROM InWest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Merqato, deelnemer van Business Innovation Program Food (BIPF) in 2024, ontwikkelt slimme AI-software die groenten- en fruitgroothandels helpt verspilling terug te dringen. Wereldwijd gaat er tussen de 20 en 30 procent van de verse groenten en fruit verloren voordat het in de winkels belandt. Merqato koppelt productie- en verkoopcijfers aan bijvoorbeeld weersvoorspellingen. Zo wordt de keten voorspelbaarder en ontstaat minder verspilling.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rominwest.nl\/en\/news\/how-is-merqato-now\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hoe is het nu met Merqato?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Merqato, deelnemer van Business Innovation Program Food (BIPF) in 2024, ontwikkelt slimme AI-software die groenten- en fruitgroothandels helpt verspilling terug te dringen. Wereldwijd gaat er tussen de 20 en 30 procent van de verse groenten en fruit verloren voordat het in de winkels belandt. Merqato koppelt productie- en verkoopcijfers aan bijvoorbeeld weersvoorspellingen. 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