Meet the team |Margit Houtman

Meet our colleague Margit, our Compliance Specialist.

My name is Margit Houtman. Since September 2021 I have been working at Eosta as a Compliance Specialist. That is already 2 years but that first day only seems like a short period of time ago. Coming from a very small company with a focus on 1 product, the first days were quite overwhelming - so many colleagues, products, operations, customers, suppliers - but also very fun and dynamic.

As Compliance Specialist, I make sure that every supplier has all the required documentation that the market demands. This includes certificates, info on pesticide and fertilizer use, analysis reports, field data; but also sustainability data such as water use and CO2 emissions. I also take care of the settlement of pesticide residue observations. What I like about this job is the contact with very different suppliers; for example, I can be on the phone in the morning with a ginger supplier from China and in the afternoon with a chicory grower from the Alblasserwaard.

I am proud that last year we achieved the Fairtrade certification and are now working on trading Fairtrade ginger, limes and physalis.

In addition, working at Eosta is pleasant, with nice colleagues in a spacious and bright building. And yes, even in this job there is the occasional fuck-up. Fortunately, I can't mention any capital blunders, but I did misregister a supplier with a customer once, as a result of which the sweet potatoes couldn't leave the next day. Fortunately things like that can often be fixed with a few phone calls.

The choice to work at Eosta was not random, but had to do with the company's DNA. Not just focus on growth and profit, but also on treating this planet in a responsible way. A 100% organic trade as a starting point, but on top of that looking for what else can be improved. And of course it is a plus to have daily access to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

I myself like to grab a passion fruit or orange from the fruit bowl. At home, I like to take time to cook, especially on weekends.Indian and Italian dishes are my favorites. Something many of my colleagues probably don't know: in my leisure time I enjoy urbexing - visiting and photographing old and ruined buildings. Sometimes quite exciting (because not always completely legal and you always have to be careful because of the state of the buildings) but it always results in beautiful images.

Margit would like to introduce Gregory, accountmanager France, in the next newsletter. 
Thanks for your time Margit!