In 1998, Carstens founded the company BIO-FROST to process organic vegetables from Schleswig-Holstein. Since its founding in 1998, BIO-FROST Westhof GmbH has been the only company in Germany that specializes in processing vegetables from certified organic farms. "We only process organic produce," he said.
The decision was made during the construction of the deep freezing facility when the system was capable of processing 2 tons of product per hour - as much as the local producers harvested. “As we start with a relatively small volume, there is an opportunity to continue learning and optimizing our business. Processing will increase to 10 tonnes per hour as demand for organic convenience products and local producers increase.”BIO-FROST's frozen vegetables provide raw materials for the processing industry, with about 65% used in the manufacture of baby food and the rest purchased by companies that produce ready-to-eat meals. “In my opinion, deep freezing is the best way to preserve fresh food; in this way, the quality of fresh produce is better preserved compared to canned food,” explained the CEO, “Due to the extremely short transport routes, the vegetables are frozen in very good conditions, and the quality is guaranteed."
“The demand for organic frozen food has grown rapidly over the past 20 years. While the development of conventional vegetables is currently stagnant, there is a high demand for frozen products. Traditional retailers are also paying attention to the products of BIO-FROST Westhof GmbH. ” explained Carstens.
Even in the processing industry, regionalization trends cannot be ignored. The range of frozen vegetables is slightly larger. "All the retailers I know want vegetables from this region," Carstens said. "As far as deep-frozen food is concerned, the range extends to all of Germany."