Superfoods by plane, boat, train and road

For years, Geis has been helping the Písek-based company Goodie, which processes natural raw materials into its own products, with logistics from suppliers around the world. They import their products by road, sea, rail and air. Adam Černý, Technical & Logistics Manager at Goodie, confirms that it works: "Goodie and Geis are a perfect example of a business relationship that simply works."

Strict regulations

The transport of specific goods is often not without strict veterinary or phytosanitary supervision, temperature control and other not-so-common rules. This means that transport involves many permits, endless paperwork, documentation and customs regulations. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that the countries involved are remote and logistically less accessible. But Geis and Goodie can often do the impossible, and so the Czech consumer has an increasingly wide range of exotic and truly unique foods.
 

Beef or seal?

Transporting freeze-dried beef liver has been particularly difficult, primarily because it is an animal-derived raw material. It requires several import permits from a number of institutions in both New Zealand and the Czech Republic. During the clearance process, there was even a question as to whether the shipment contained animal products from seals.

Speed matters

Some foods are very susceptible to temperature deterioration. When you want to ship shea butter from Uganda to a port in another African country, it is also too risky, especially because of theft. Also, vanilla pods and seeds directly from plantations in Madagascar must not be allowed to stay on the road for long. Geis therefore transported the butter and the fragrant vanilla for Goodie by air so that the goods would arrive in the Czech Republic in first-class quality.

By train from China to Europe

Some shipments also make the long journey across mainland China, along the Trans-Siberian Railway and on to Europe. From Morocco, expensive argan and prickly pear oil travels in large quantities, first by boat from Casablanca to Hamburg and then by road to Písek. Martin Tokič, Director of Geis CZ Air+Sea, adds: "We handle dozens of shipments and related customs services with Goodie. Many times it is a first for us, because such goods are not normally transported, although we are used to many things. We are glad that Goodie has found in us a partner they can rely on."