Westfalia strengthens marketing, development capabilities
Westfalia strengthens marketing, development capabilities
Westfalia Fruit has established a new customer development team, led by newly appointed Dani Busseni as global head of customer marketing and development. The new appointments combine market insights, commercial strategy and category management expertise to identify growth opportunities for both customers and growers.
“I am very excited to be joining Westfalia at this point of its history," said Busseni. "The new team represents Westfalia's investment in long-term market development by bringing together specialist knowledge to transform data into actionable growth strategies. The team will be working closely with leading retailers and foodservice operators to uncover and develop new opportunities in both fresh and fresh convenience segments.”
The group comprises Elena Ozeritskaya as insight manager, who leads market intelligence and data-driven analysis; Ryan Brits as category manager responsible for end-to-end strategy development; and Aurélie Lamotte as customer development manager, focusing on strategic execution and local market implementation.
“Dani and the wider team were appointed to drive long-term, sustainable category growth and market development,” said Wim Destoop, chief customer officer at Westfalia Fruit. “Its goal is to unlock latent demand for avocados and avocado-based products by better understanding consumers, shoppers, customers, and supply dynamics. It's about building the future collaboratively, not just satisfying today's demand.”
Rather than anticipating organic growth, Westfalia is now actively creating market opportunities through insight-led action and collaborative customer planning. The customer development team acts as a bridge between commercial insight and execution. Crucially, it links supply-side realities with demand-side opportunities across markets.
“We analyze customer data but also develop thought leadership and insights that help retailers understand growth opportunities they might be missing,” said Ozeritskaya. “We're seeing strong appetite for plant-based nutrition, and functional foods, as well as a growing interest in fresh convenience avocado products. Another interesting area is extending product development across different size fruit, supporting growers total harvest. We're targeting that white space through data-driven strategies tailored to each market's unique characteristics.”
The team's work involves robust category modelling, trend tracking and joint business planning with customers. Recent initiatives include developing global market demand models for guacamole, avocado oil, and frozen avocado that are already shaping internal pipeline planning, supported by growers and customer conversations. This analytical foundation enables more strategic discussions with retailers about category growth potential and optimal product positioning.
After successful introductions and commercialization in selected markets, Westfalia is now scaling up GEM, its premium avocado variety, as a strategic brand with bold ambitions for global recognition. Already enjoyed by consumers in multiple countries, GEM is now stepping into the spotlight and poised to become a flagship name in the avocado category, much like Pink Lady in apples or Zespri in kiwis.
“We see GEM not just as a superior product, but as a long-term brand asset,” said Lamotte. “We’re proud of what GEM has achieved so far, and now it's time to let it shine as a recognized name in premium avocados.”
Key to achieving GEM’s potential is strengthened year-round availability. Leveraging Westfalia’s integrated global sourcing network, new origin development and advanced post-harvest technologies, the company is reinforcing GEM’s consistent premium quality 365 days a year.
