What is Marqt?

QB: It's a traditional marketplace, implemented in a new way, and a 100 percent alternative to the supermarket. Marqt's mission is to make ‘real' food accessible. Our food is produced with respect for people, nature (the environment) and animals. It is authentic, which means it has no additives, and tastes really good!

Why did you start Marqt?

QB: I worked for an international food retail company for five years and I saw that, logistically, there was no room for real, fresh food.  In a mature market like the Netherlands, supermarkets dominate. You end up with a few supermarket companies, which all have several stores selling almost the same assortment. The only thing that differentiates one product from another is the price, and people simply try to buy the cheapest product available. This causes prices to get lower and lower, forcing producers to produce more for less. Someone in the chain always pays the price, whether it is animals, the environment or people. I thought, you can't keep on going lower and lower. It's unethical and people can't buy what they really want to eat.  

I noticed that a growing number of customers want to know where their food comes from and have a guarantee on how it is produced.  There are plenty of growers and farmers who produce authentic products but who can't find the consumers. We bring them together in the marketplace in a new fashion, tailored to the day and age we live in now.

Where is the food produced?

QB: We use local suppliers as much as possible. For instance, we have a small production facility near Halfweg (between Amsterdam and Haarlem). We helped our growers find this location, where they now cultivate fresh organic produce. Another plus is that they provide work for people who need social help and who can benefit from being around nature.

We are growing our network and encourage farmers to produce their product in a more sustainable way. We encourage people to take steps to go sustainable, which requires a two-year period and results in certified organic products. At the beginning I had to search for suppliers, now they come to us.

We can't do everything locally though. For instance, we import tropical or non-seasonal fruits. However, we need a guarantee first that they are Fair-trade and certified organic products.

What sort of people do you attract to Marqt?

QB: We see a lot of international people in the store. I think that the food standards in most cities around the world are better than the Dutch standards and that people from abroad are simply used to higher food standards. The Dutch tend to go for price more than anything and there's not enough room for quality. Over 50 percent of what we produce organically in Holland is exported, because we don't want to pay for it ourselves.

Some people have this ‘Big Brother' thing and think that we are monitoring them. But we don't collect any data whatsoever. We build loyalty by greeting our customers and helping them find what they want, not by analyzing data.

You were voted "Amsterdammer of the Year 2010". Why do you think you were you chosen?

QB: I think I was nominated because Marqt does something positive for the city and the environment in all kinds of ways. A lot of customers visit our store weekly and once they knew I was elected, I simply got more votes than the other nine nominees, even though they also had worthwhile initiatives. I received a financial award, which I gave away to other contestants. I did this because I believe that Marqt can only develop if people are willing to pay more for good products--because production costs for quality food are higher, and if they aren't willing to do so, the cash prize wouldn't have helped me anyhow.

How is Marqt doing and what are your future plans?

QB: We are doing very well. We have one store in Haarlem and two in Amsterdam, and we've just signed a new contract in Amsterdam. We are looking to grow to 15 stores by the end of 2013. We hope to expand from Haarlem and Amsterdam to the rest of the Randstad. We hope to connect more sustainable farmers to the system, and so far, we don't have any delivery or production issues. However, we don't want our cheese producer to turn into a cheese factory. So when the demand grows, we simply hope to employ more farmers whose production methods meet our standards.

Won't some people resist buying at Marqt because its prices aren't as low as in the supermarkets?

I think as a society we must start to learn that there is a bottom for prices. For Marqt, it means that we want to do everything as cheap and efficiently as possible, as long as we don't go below the limit where you hurt the integrity of the products and the people who produce them. Supermarkets do things to make the price lower but you don't get the same product back. For instance, you can buy guacamole but there is no avocado in there, only five percent avocado powder. These products have more additives than ingredients. Customers need to ask themselves, do I want to eat that?

So part of your mission is to educate?

QB: We want to encourage people to think about what they are eating and their philosophy. We once gave paper bags to everyone in the neighbourhood and invited them to change several non-real food products for real ones. We got all kinds of products from people, who seemed to be aware of what wasn't real, and replaced them with real food. We chucked the products they gave us. These things shouldn't have been produced in the first place.

But what about those who really can't afford to spend more on food?
QB: People have asked me if there is enough food in the world, but I say we need to start by consuming in a different manner. For instance, salmon sandwiches are available in every gas station in the country, and if all countries do this then there won't be enough salmon in the sea. So the salmon that you get is farmed, and in a manner that you don't want to know about. Then stop it. Eat something else.

People just need to think about what they choose to spend their money on:  mobile phone, holiday, clothes?  Plus, if people really don't have much to spend, it isn't a reason for us not to start our store. We just want to make sure there is a whole new stream of business and farming.

Expatica/ Natasha Gunn