While many butchers are struggling, Milan de Vries from Hooghalen is going well. De Vries is an entrepreneur and has combined the butcher’s trade with a delivery and collection service. “Most butchers are old family businesses that have been passed on generation to generation. They often persist the old -fashioned butcher’s way.”
Milan de Vries is 21. He has no shop and no staff yet. At the moment he does everything himself, with some help from his girlfriend and some good friends every now and then. “We sell a lot per kilo. We buy large and then do everything in portions. We do a part frozen and therefore we can keep the price low. We can buy exactly and prepare what the customer needs.”
Milan also delivers the meat to home, mainly in a large area around Beilen, where his new business location is. Advertising is mainly word of mouth and via Facebook and Instagram. “We don’t try to advertise too much, but to show what we do. So that people really have a glimpse.”
De Vries is an outer beam in the butcher’s compartment. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, a quarter of the butchers have stopped over the past ten years. Professional magazine Vleesmagazine reports that since last year 75 butchers have closed their doors.
De Vries has been working for himself for two years, after he has previously worked in paid employment and has tried to start mail order companies. This comes together in this company. “Meat is just super tasty. And you are doing well, so it’s just super.”