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Carrot processing at the highest level: TopFresh and Sormac
In 2004, Peter Matthijssen founded TopFresh B.V. with the ambition to grow and process carrot crops with better taste and higher quality. In 2025, TopFresh celebrates its 20th anniversary — a milestone marked by 125 colleagues, 525 hectares of cultivation fields, and multiple production lines equipped with Sormac machinery. TopFresh harvests 11 months per year and ensures the shortest possible lead time from field to packaging. The result: always fresh and always high-quality.
Quality and trust as top priorities
“We want our carrots to reach the end customer as quickly as possible. That’s when they are fresh, and of course taste the best. That’s why it’s important for us to process large volumes at a high turnover rate,” says Peter Matthijssen.
TopFresh began in 2004 with a few locally purchased cutting machines. The first investments in Sormac equipment soon followed, including a carrot peeler and carrot topper. In 2015, they made major strides with a new roller grading system and three complete processing lines for baby carrots.
Since 2013, Managing Director Annet van Steen has been closely involved in TopFresh’s growth. “Almost every year, we invested in Sormac machines. Reliability and quality are essential. The last thing we want is to tell our customers we cannot deliver. In that regard, Sormac has truly made the difference.”
Full process in-house
Efficient cultivation for multiple markets
“We grow and process carrots, and we manage the entire process ourselves: from the seed in the field to the packaged product on supermarket shelves. In recent years, we’ve grown in all carrot segments,” Annet explains. “In the past, the focus was mainly on Imperator carrots and baby carrots. There was less attention for regular carrots and unprocessed carrots. Now, demand in that segment has increased significantly, giving us two sales markets: processed and unprocessed carrots.”
Convenience is becoming increasingly important to consumers. They want to prepare a healthy meal quickly and with minimal effort. For the carrot industry, this meant a growing demand for pre-cut and washed carrots. Annet explains: “Take the meal kits from supermarkets. For those, quality and size are especially important. When consumers take the carrot out of the packaging, it must look appealing. It also needs to fit perfectly in the packaging and be suitable for the recipe.”
Annet clarifies how they serve both markets efficiently: “Sorting machines play a crucial role. With precise grading, we can supply customer-specific products. We also assess the quality during sorting. Carrots with small blemishes are peeled and further processed. Because all these steps take place internally, we maintain full control of each product and work as efficiently as possible.” Residual flows, such as peels, cutting waste and less visually appealing carrots, are supplied as animal feed. “Our goal is to upgrade these residual streams whenever possible from feed to food. That way, we truly make the most of every harvest.”
Constantly evolving
Many years of trust in Sormac
“Quality and reliability are decisive for us,” Peter explains. “The machines have been running here for many years and perform excellently. In terms of service, Sormac is always ready to assist. They are connected remotely to our systems, can see exactly what’s happening inside the machine and support us directly.”
Annet adds: “What we see as an opportunity for Sormac is continuous data analysis of our machines. They could warn us when a machine starts showing small changes we might not notice ourselves. Then we can plan maintenance whenever it suits us. There is also room for further collaboration regarding water savings, both in the production process and in cleaning the machines.”
Sormac and TopFresh share the same priorities: reliability and quality. Thanks to this combination, TopFresh has been able to guarantee consumers what truly matters for twenty years: fresh, flavourful carrots of top quality.
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