Beva Fruits International (BFI), a leading European fresh produce importer headquartered in France, has been expanding its social impact brand BENJI, as the company enjoys soaring growth.
The citrus, table grape and avocado specialist enjoyed an impressive 40 percent growth in the 2020 fiscal year, and is expecting it to continue in 2021.
BFI is the main supplier of overseas citrus to nine French retailers, taking all sizes and bagging them in either the supermarket's label or the BENJI label.
The company is also a leading distributor of mangoes, table grapes and avocados, seeing a rapid expansion in this latter category, especially in Morocco, South Africa and Mexico. Avocado volumes from East Africa have remained stable.
The pioneering supplier is delighted to announce that the BENJI label, which was launched in 2019, is now being packed in over 10 countries around the world.
BFI has joined forces with Women Safe & Children (women-safe.org), an association that comes to the aid of women and children who are victims of domestic violence. The company donates part the proceeds for every carton sold under the BENJI label to the organization.
“We have enjoyed an excellent 2020 with a growth of over 40%," says Bruno Edery, CEO of BFI. "However, this is not close to the 60% increase in domestic violence the past year due to Covid-19. Our business only makes sense if all around us are living in dignity and in safe environments."
"We chose this charity because we felt it was something that needed attention. All our retailers have embraced this," he says.
When asked what the future steps for BFI are, Edery said: “We now need to focus on environmental responsibility and we will be undertaking a larger role in the organic fruit trade."
BFI has been certified organic since 2016.
“Healthy eating is on everyone’s minds," he said. "People are willing to make a monetary sacrifice to be healthier and live longer."
Other recent developments include the addition of mangoes to the product offering. BFI's mangoes come from Mexico and Peru, and the company this year hired a full-time person based in Mexico to assist in Latin American sourcing.
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