{"id":7996,"date":"2026-03-04T13:21:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T13:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/traveling-to-the-middle-east-it-truly-felt-like-coming-home\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T13:55:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T13:55:27","slug":"traveling-to-the-middle-east-it-truly-felt-like-coming-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/traveling-to-the-middle-east-it-truly-felt-like-coming-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Traveling to the Middle East: \u201cIt truly felt like coming home\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

For Patrick, this trip was not just a business journey, but a special return to a region where he has felt at home for many years. The visit took place a few weeks ago, at a time when the current unrest in the region was hardly noticeable. Given everything that has changed since then, we now look with even greater care at the people involved and sincerely hope the situation will stabilize soon. In that context, maintaining personal contact felt especially important: through warm encounters, strong relationships, and new insights, the trip once again demonstrated how essential trust truly is.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The journey & first impressions<\/h2>\n

It immediately felt familiar to be back in \u201chis\u201d region. \u201cI\u2019ve been traveling to this region for years and have built strong relationships here. At some companies, the welcome truly felt like coming home.\u201d<\/p>\n

What stood out right away? The tremendous progress. \u201cThe quality of locally produced goods is so much better than two years ago. The assortment is broader, and there\u2019s a lot happening within the region itself: mergers, acquisitions, and a skyline that changes every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Customers & relationships<\/h2>\n

The meetings with customers were personal and warm. \u201cI\u2019ve had long-standing relationships with these companies. Because of that foundation of trust, the transition to Valstar felt very natural.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some meetings were purely friendly, such as a lunch with a long-time contact with whom there is currently no business being conducted. \u201cThat shows how strong these relationships have become over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Customers were particularly interested in what Farmhouse and its companies have to offer today. \u201cThe family story, with nearly 100 years of history, made a real impression. And they were pleased that Valstar is active in the Middle East again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retail & inspiration<\/h2>\n

In the stores, the high-quality presentation once again stood out. \u201cEverything is displayed so perfectly. Sometimes you hardly dare to pick up an apple because the pyramid might collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick also noticed inspiring trends: more fresh preparation in-store, greater product diversity, and luxury packaging. \u201cA display of premium Chinese strawberries really stood out both in presentation and price.\u201d<\/p>\n

Market dynamics & opportunities<\/h2>\n

Local products are being promoted more strongly than ever. \u201cThe quality has improved enormously, and the season is getting longer each year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The requirements are not very different from Europe, but preferences certainly are: \u201cA mango shelf here can stretch for meters, with ten different varieties side by side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opportunities for Farmhouse? \u201cDirect lines with international growers, expanding the assortment, and leveraging our strong brands in this region.\u201d<\/p>\n

Culture & collaboration<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Successful business in the region requires cultural understanding. \u201cService levels are extremely high here, and trust is everything. You need to know the people, respect them, and never be too direct.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patrick feels at home there. \u201cThe way of doing business suits me. Building long-term relationships that\u2019s exactly what gives me energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Special moments<\/h2>\n

The moment that touched him most? \u201cA customer said: We\u2019ve known Patrick for so long; moving to Farmhouse was an obvious step for us. That kind of trust is special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead<\/h2>\n

For Patrick, Farmhouse represents a new chapter built on a trusted foundation. \u201cIt\u2019s a larger company, but on the work floor it feels like one family.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trip confirmed for him that there are many opportunities in the Middle East. At the same time, we continue to closely monitor the situation in the region and sincerely hope that peace and stability will return soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Patrick, this trip was not just a business journey, but a special return to a region where he has felt at home for many years. The visit took place a few weeks ago, at a time when the current unrest in the region was hardly noticeable. Given everything that has changed since then, we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7992,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jet_sm_ready_style":"","_jet_sm_style":"","_jet_sm_controls_values":"","_jet_sm_fonts_collection":"","_jet_sm_fonts_links":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"hf_cat_post":[],"class_list":["post-7996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7996"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8008,"href":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7996\/revisions\/8008"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7996"},{"taxonomy":"hf_cat_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farmhouse-international.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hf_cat_post?post=7996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}