Dutch-based Bejo acquires South African distributor Nuvance

Bejo and Zaad Holdings are pleased to announce Bejo’s acquisition of Nuvance, as of July 1st 2020. Until June 30th Nuvance was a subsidiary of Klein Karoo Seed Marketing, part of Zaad Holdings.

Bejo is a Dutch family-owned company specialized in international breeding, production and sales of vegetable seed. Nuvance is a well-established South African seed supplier with extensive expertise in Sub-Saharan Africa, ‘proudly in Africa for Africa’. The two companies have worked together for numerous years in developing South African horticulture and share a dedication for the professional vegetable market.

Recent socio-economic changes across the African continent are driving a growing demand for locally produced, high quality, healthy food. With their combined expertise and resources, Nuvance and Bejo have an excellent team in place to respond to these developments. By supplying the highest quality seed of varieties well adapted to local growing conditions, by working with growers, sharing agricultural knowledge and, improving logistics, both companies are confident they can contribute significantly to vegetable production. Bejo and Nuvance are committed to ensuring the sustainable success of the growers, who in turn play a vital role in reaching the goal of African food security.

Floris Kotze, commercial manager of Nuvance, says: “We take pride in joining forces with Bejo, enabling us to focus on the professional vegetable market and bring our service offering in line with the high ambitions set out in 2018. Nuvance will benefit from Bejo’s advanced technology and expertise, bringing substantial improvement to our business operations. For our customers, this means even better support through enhanced customer services, product innovation and tailor-made cultivation advice.”

John-Pieter Schipper, CEO of Bejo, says: “We welcome our new colleagues from Nuvance to the Bejo family and look forward to deepening our existing relationship. Their extensive experience and knowledge of the South African market gives me great confidence that we can realize our joint ambitions. We know from other markets that local expertise and dedication are vital to operating successfully. Innovation in professional vegetable production is needed to keep up with the increasing demand for healthy, delicious vegetables throughout Southern Africa. This is an important milestone for both our companies.”

During the coming months, Nuvance will be fully integrated into the Bejo organization. With focus on the high-end professional market, this implies that some changes in the current assortment may be expected. These will be thoroughly evaluated and discussed with customers and suppliers involved. In the interim, Nuvance will do business under the current name, whilst customers and partners will see no change in their relationships with their trusted contacts. Despite some anticipated changes in the management, Bejo intends to continue working with the entire team of Nuvance specialists.  

Bejo and Nuvance would like to use this opportunity to thank Klein Karoo Seed Marketing for the successful partnership in the past, as both companies continually aim to go ‘beyond vegetable seed’.

About Nuvance

Nuvance strives to be an innovative and reliable supplier of high-quality seed, advice and professional services within the vegetable seed value chain across Sub-Saharan Africa. Working with expertise and passion, Nuvance continually aims to make a significant difference in complementing producers’ businesses to ensure sustainability. This is achieved by supplying our customers with the best genetics, which benefits their businesses though minimizing risk whilst optimizing yield and quality.

About Bejo

Bejo is an internationally leading company specialized in the breeding, production, processing and sales of quality vegetable seeds. With an assortment of some 50 crops and more than 1,200 varieties, Bejo offers a complete programme for all markets and a wide range of climates. The Dutch family company has expanded over the years in an organic, ongoing process, shaped by interaction between growers, dealers, supply chain partners and its own employees. All partners have the freedom, within their own local market, to get the most out of Bejo’s products. With operations in more than 30 countries and over 1,800 employees, we are dedicated to offering the best service and developing the best vegetable varieties for the present and the future - Exploring nature never stops.