Jaap Brokking about opportunities, chain expertise and customers

Jaap Brokking is Managing Director of BBS Food. Entrepreneurship is in his heart which comes from a family that works for over a century in the agri- and food business. In 2003 he and his wife Didy Brokking-Lekkerkerker and Loek Brandenburg and Andre Storteboom founded BBS Food. BBS Food has grown in the last eight years into a major player in the private label convenience food market.

“Years ago, I already saw the development of chicken as a convenience product on the international market. From whole frozen chickens to higher quality fresh products, that were portioned even further into smaller products.”

The raw material – the entire chicken – was already there, but there were many more parts that could be used as a convenience product. We could add value; bone-in became the core activity with which we became even more successful. Product development was and is key within BBS Food. A new development for example is Steampack®, which packages products using hot steam."

"Chicken consumption is growing, both here in the Netherlands as well as internationally. It is very important to continue to innovate inside the chain. The joint expertise of all links in the chain makes it possible to add mutual value. We value our suppliers equally as much as our customers.

Growth with customer focus

Besides chicken, beef and pork is also processed into convenience products, for example spareribs. BBS is extending its activities and will start serving the food industry. “BBS Industrial is a great addition to our existing operations. I expect interesting business opportunities. We have the product knowledge, we have invested in a new Revoformer and we have the expertise of John Hendriks. That is a powerful combination."

BBS Food is growing further into Europe. “We want to think European. We have a European reseller network. All of this is based on open networks; because you should do what you are good at and not be limited in that respect. Our philosophy is: operate from strength, not power.” This growth is intrinsically linked to further professionalisation. Customer focus is our prime concern. "Our 1-2-3 Concept adds much value to the co-operation with our customers. Our objective for the coming years? Develop smart product-market combinations which seamlessly fit with the customer demand!”