Who are we?
With many years of experience in trading, the FMI team is the leading limes specialist. We very consciously decided to stick to what we’re good at: Limes as well as lemons, ginger and sometimes other tropicals such as papayas.
How we do it? Our key words are vertical integration – short lines of communication with our customers and growers, and strong brands.
With branches in Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain, we can guarantee a controlled chain so that the best-quality fruit is delivered to the customers as quickly as possible. We visit the cultivation areas every month and have daily contact with our customers. Marketing our high-quality fruit under striking brand names also adds value.
We offer specific solutions for the European wholesaler, food service, retail, the processing industry and producers of meal boxes.
We do this as efficiently as possible to make things easy for our customers.
We also think it’s important to work in a focused and attentive way, so as to achieve the best possible results. As a team, we play off each other’s strengths in this respect and thus derive more pleasure from our work. We also take a critical look at our options for adopting sustainable and socially responsible business practices.
Short lines and flexibility remain important; we therefore attach great importance to ‘old-fashioned’ and personal contact with both our customers and our growers. Feel free to call, chat or e-mail us, we are happy to answer your questions or help come up with ideas. Our motto: We Grow Service!
Onze basics
De kracht van FMI is dat we in een aantal specifieke producten -Limes, Lemons, Ginger en Papayas- een sterke positie hebben opgebouwd.
Met name in Limes hebben we ons de laatste jaren zowel breder als dieper ontwikkeld zodat we een van de grootste Lime-importeurs van Europa zijn geworden. Het zwaartepunt van onze Limeproductie ligt in heel Latijns-Amerika, maar vooral in Mexico en Brazilië. Daar werken wij al jarenlang intensief samen met gerenommeerde telers die onder de beste omstandigheden topkwaliteit fruit produceren. Omdat we precies weten hoe ons fruit geteeld wordt, zijn wij ook in staat om rechtstreekste programma’s voor klanten te verzorgen. Zo weten we precies waar het fruit vandaan komt én organiseren wij de eigen export rechtstreeks vanaf de bron naar de klant.
Tevens importeert FMI overzeese Lemons uit Argentinië. Wij werken steady samen met een grote importeur uit Tucuman die exclusief voor ons zijn beste citroenen in het merk Royal Fresh verpakt: beschikbaar in dozen van 18kg en 6kg. Om onze Europese klanten jaarrond van Lemons te kunnen voorzien heeft FMI een aantal jaar geleden een eigen kantoor in Spanje geopend. Hierdoor kunnen de Spaanse FMI-collega’s volledig in eigen beheer de beste producten selecteren en exporteren, direct van de boom naar de klant. Indien gewenst onder jouw eigen label of in óns eigen merk Royal Fresh.
Papayas leveren we het hele jaar per luchtvracht uit Brazilië onder ons eigen label Royal Fresh. Zowel de variëteit Formosa als de kleinere Golden leveren wij met de hoogste kwaliteit –desgewenst in diverse kleuringen. Ook Spaanse variëteiten zoals de Sweet Mary behoren tot ons assortiment.
Met het Fair by Nature label bieden we een compleet assortiment 100% biologisch geteelde producten aan. Denk hierbij aan biologische Citrusvruchten, maar ook Spaanse bleekselderij, bloemkool en broccoli.
Wil je meer weten of mis je iets in ons assortiment? Laat het ons weten en neem gerust contact op zodat we samen alle mogelijkheden kunnen bespreken.
Our team
We are a diverse and energetic team and value a personal approach. As colleagues, we believe it’s important to work in a focused and attentive way, so as to get the best out of ourselves. As a team, we play off each other’s strengths in this respect and thus derive more pleasure from our work. As entrepreneurs, we aim to treat our company and our living environment in a sustainable and responsible way. This is expressed in our care for the people in our chain, while also focusing on issues such as our ecological footprint. If you’d like to know how we do it, check out www.fairbynature.com (link: https://www.fairbynature.com/files/compensation-co2-emissions-en.pdf)
Feel free to reach out to us directly through our contact info. If you want to know more about our team, click on the photo of our colleagues to find out their personal inspiration for working at FMI.
Our basics – The power of specialisation
The power of FMI is that we have developed a strong position in a number of specific products: limes, lemons and ginger.
Limes are our main area of expertise and specialisation.
As a result, over the past few years we have become one of the biggest lime importers in Europe. Our limes are packed in our own branded packaging: Royal Fresh, Toro Verde and Limeking.
FMI also imports overseas lemons from Argentina. Packed in Royal Fresh branded packaging: available in 18kg and 6kg cartons. We can also ship lemons directly from Spain via our Spanish office.
Ginger is the third pillar within FMI. We have chosen to focus on the import of Brazilian Ginger. From May to December by container, from January to April fresh young ginger by air freight.
We deliver papayas all year round by air freight from Brazil under our own Royal Fresh label. We supply the highest quality of both the Formosa and the smaller Golden varieties – in various colours if required. Spanish varieties such as the Sweet Mary also form part of our range.
For more detailed information about our range, click here
Family & Fruit shops
FMI over the years
1950
Fruit is in the Bouman family's DNA! Grandpa Gerhardus entered the business at a young age; in the 1930s he went farm to farm with a dog cart. He went on to launch a wholesale business with his wife Anne.
1986
Their son Henk expanded the family business by settling in 1986 in 'the Wild West' – at the auction in Barendrecht. Henk was one of the first pioneers to travel around the world to bring in business.
2001
The Royal Fresh brand – conceived by René's Greek wife Konstantina – was launched in a building on the gebroken meeldijk.
2012
The business is therefore in his son’s and grandson’s René and Peter Bouman’s DNA. From the 1990s onwards, they gained considerable experience and contacts in the fruit and vegetable sector. In 2012 they founded FMI together with father Henk as a consultant. They complement each other seamlessly in their day-to-day activities; their close relationship is the basis for success.
Today
FMI today; together with a dynamic team, they manage the daily business and are focused and dynamic in many ways. In short: a family business that’s not afraid to be different!