Gerd-Jan Hooijmans chooses the family business with full conviction.
If mushrooms are on your menu about five times a week, it’s almost inevitable that you develop a passion for them. That is certainly true for Gerd-Jan Hooijmans. As he puts it himself: ‘The mushroom is truly an undervalued product. It’s super healthy—everyone should really be eating it.’ It therefore wasn’t a difficult decision for him to focus on this pure natural product. Not as a grower, but as a producer of the substrate that forms the basis for mushroom cultivation, within his family’s business.
From holiday worker to all-round employee
From the age of fourteen, Gerd-Jan was already involved in the family business. In the beginning mainly during school holidays: “On Saturdays I always played football, and on Sundays Ajax played. So of course I couldn’t work,” he says with a laugh. Gerd-Jan started out cleaning the tunnels, but quickly became familiar with almost all departments. He operated the loader, helped out on the export packaging line, and worked alongside the logistics team.
During his first year of studies, Gerd-Jan obtained his truck driver’s license, after which he was often on the road visiting customers. He also gained experience in the office, including in the planning department: “That’s where my experience in production and behind the wheel really came in handy. It felt like all the puzzle pieces suddenly fell into place.”
A conscious choice after his studies
After completing his studies in Organization and Management Studies, all options within the family business were open to Gerd-Jan. He first wanted to gain experience outside the sector and therefore worked at ASML during his master’s program. “A really great time,” he reflects. “But the urge to start working back home never went away. At the end of that period, I said to my parents, ‘I’m starting next week.’ And that was the end of the application process.”
Now, two years later, he feels more than at home. “I really want to get to know every part of the organization thoroughly. The years of holiday work helped me a lot with that—you understand faster how things fit together. But I still learn something new every day, both from people within our organization, in the sector, or beyond. That keeps me motivated.”
Learning from colleagues and growers
Besides working within the organization, Gerd-Jan is often on the road. “I visit growers, meet suppliers, and participate in various study groups. I want to get to know the sector as well as possible.” In doing so, he clearly follows in the footsteps of his father, Jan, who mastered the craft of making substrate in the same way: by observing, asking questions, and, above all, gaining hands-on experience.
The question everyone asks
And then the big question: Will Gerd-Jan become the future successor of the family business? He doesn’t have to think long: “I get so much energy from this. I’m really excited about it and want to keep developing the company. So yes, I absolutely see myself doing that.”
