Gregersen spent more than two decades organising the transport of food. He steps into World Food Trading’s ownership group alongside a network built over that time among food producers, wholesalers and retailers across Europe — and takes the chair with a mandate to help the company grow, not to change how it works.

“It’s people I’ve worked with for most of my career, so I know them well. I’ve followed them from the sidelines since they founded the company eighteen months ago, and I like both their thinking and the way they work. That’s why I said yes when I got the chance to buy into the company.”  — Martin Gade Gregersen, Chairman, World Food Trading

Gregersen joined the DFDS leadership team just over five years ago with responsibility for refrigerated transport, when DFDS acquired the Dutch company HSF. HSF had itself acquired the Esbjerg-based N&K Spedition four years earlier — the company where Gregersen was a co-owner.

“I’ve always loved making things happen. Whether that’s closing a large contract or getting the last truckload of clementines home to Denmark before Christmas, it comes down to making it happen. That’s how World Food Trading works too, so I’m not coming in to revolutionise the company — I’m coming in to help it grow.”  — Martin Gade Gregersen

Global execution from day one

World Food Trading is a young company, but it has already established itself in a complex global food market. It has exported Turkish grapefruit to Japan and sold fruit from Turkey, Peru and South Africa into the United States. Turkish melons are currently its route into major Scandinavian supermarket chains, alongside work to bring a range of Egyptian products into the Dutch market.

The United Kingdom has been a key market from the start — the country imports large volumes of food every year, including around 50% of the meat it consumes. World Food Trading has agreements with major slaughterhouses in Denmark, Spain and Germany to meet a strategic supply agreement with a large UK restaurant chain.

“I’ve spent more than 25 years understanding how to move goods — food especially — as efficiently as possible and with minimal waste. At World Food Trading I move a step closer to the product and the customer. My role is to support the team and help refine a business model that is direct, flexible and free of the unnecessary complexity that often weighs down the largest players.”  — Martin Gade Gregersen

Investing in the foundation

World Food Trading has invested heavily in both people and IT systems from day one. A loss is budgeted for the 2025/2026 financial year, but based on agreements already in place, the company expects to turn a profit as early as its second financial year.