Innovative Fruit Product Turns Small Portuguese Company Nutrigreen Into a Europe-Wide Force

Nutrigreen, which earned about € 600,000 in 2010, is expected to reach a turnover of € 5 million this year and € 100 million in 2016. The small Portuguese company will be responsible for total production of the C-Optima, made from 100% natural fruit that results from the partnership between the multinational Danone and Chiquita, created a year ago.

Mar 13 2012--- All it took was a simple fruit bar to change the path of Nutrigreen Portugal, a company dedicated to the processing of fruit and vegetables. The bar won the Top Innovation award at Anuga Fair in Germany (2009), the largest global food show.

The company was able to capitalize on this success by negotiating with the giant Danone, ultimately getting a production contract for a range of fruit juices and purees.

The contract is valid for five years and is the production of 800 million bottles of juice per year.

Nutrigreen, which earned about € 600,000 in 2010, is expected to reach a turnover of € 5 million this year and € 100 million in 2016.

The small Portuguese company will be responsible for total production of the C-Optima, made from 100% natural fruit that results from the partnership between the multinational Danone and Chiquita, created a year ago.

The new smoothie is already being tested and marketed in Belgium and will be released in the rest of Europe from September. Portugal is not yet part of expansion plans, but this is where the action begins.

With a line that now produces 8,000 bottles of fresh fruit juice per hour, Nutrigreen believe they will be able to reach a threshold of 200,000 bottles per hour within three years. To do so, we will invest € 17 million in the first year, of which € 7 million has been made, which will increase the size of the plant to double, from 3000 to 6000 meters square. This year, the production line will reach a capacity of 50,000 bottles per hour, comprising 100 thousand tons of fruit.

The company has a supply agreement with bottles Logoplaste Portuguese industrial group, which produces rigid plastic packaging. Carlos germander, founder of Nutrigreen advances that the total investment at the end of the fifth year, will vary between € 25 million and € 30 million. The Rural Development Programme of the Continent (PRO-DER) and the Institute of Support to Small and Medium Enterprises and Innovation (IAPMEI) reimburse the project with € 4 million.

Founded in 2007, Nutrigreen started its activity through a partnership with a national group of large retailers to sell fresh juices. At the same time, Carlos germander created Nutrigreen International, Belgium. "My goal is overseas," he says, explaining: "Northern Europe has a very high consumption of fruits and vegetables, and fortunately for us, [the region] is under ice and snow during a series of months. Therefore, we’re starting to think about the best way to export to these countries, giving added value to national production through investment in processing of the product."

To contact our editorial team please email us at editorial@cnsmedia.com