Unripe · starchy
Green to fry
Unripe and starchy. Slice, fry, salt: the basis for patacones, tostones and savoury stews.
Wholesaler · Food Center Amsterdam · since 1955
The tropics,
freshly delivered every day.
Exotic vegetables, fruit and plantains. A family business at the Food Center Amsterdam, with fixed routes through Amsterdam and across the Netherlands.
112 products online
Since 1955 · Family business
What began with a
bunch of bananas,
became a family business.
In 1955, Cees Karsten started on the Amsterdam market with plantains. A fruit that back then had no place on the shop shelf, yet was indispensable in the Surinamese kitchen.
Decades later, his son Wim still stands at the market every morning, alongside a range that now counts more than sixty top brands, from nine countries of origin.
Wim Karsten · owner
63 brands · one range
The names behind our shelves.
From Turbana and Tilda to Knorr and Faja Lobi. We carry the brands your customer recognises, plus the specialities that rarely sit on the shelf elsewhere.
- Tilda
- Fernandes
- Bintang
Flagship · banana brands Globally known
+ 36 speciality brands
Missing a brand? Karsten expands the range based on demand. Feel free to call us with a request.
The heart of Karsten · Plantain
One fruit.
Two characters.
The plantain ripens in our own ripening cells, from green to gold. Two states, two kitchens.
Ripe · sweet
Gold to eat
Ripe, sweet and soft. Pan-fried with butter and cinnamon, or straight from the hand with a pinch of salt.
Three house brands
The bananas we collect every morning from the quay.
Colombia
Turbana
The cooperative of thousands of small growers in Urabá and Magdalena. Our house supplier for plantain and cavendish.
Fyffes
Costa Rica · Belize
Fyffes
A century of banana trade. The first brand to put a sticker on a banana, and still our partner for Caribbean volumes today.
Dole
Honduras · Ecuador
Dole
A global player in tropical fruit. For the pineapple, mango and banana that complete the range.
Fresh now · the rest on the way
Everything for one complete kitchen.
Coming soon
Rice · Noodles · Bami
Basmati, jasmine, glutinous, ramen, rice noodles and bami.
Coming soon
Sauces · Chutneys
Soy sauce, fish sauce, kecap manis, curry paste and sambal.
Coming soon
Soft drinks · Beer
Fernandes, Tehbotol and Foco, alongside Singha, Chang, Bintang and Leo.
Nine countries · one market
Nine countries of origin, fresh in Amsterdam every day.
Amsterdam
The nine fixed countries of origin, with Amsterdam as home port. What we harvest or buy there, we ship to the Netherlands every week.
- Colombiabakbanaan · Turbana
- Surinamekousenband · groente · fruit
- Dom. Rep.mango · tropisch fruit
- Ghanakruiden · cassave
- Chinadiepvries groente & fruit
- Thailandgroente · fruit · kokoscurry
- Vietnamgroente · kruiden · cassave · yams
- Maleisiëtropisch fruit
- Indonesiëtropisch fruit · kecap · sambal
Delivery · across the Netherlands
Fixed days, fixed routes.
In Amsterdam we run a fixed city route. Beyond that, every region has its own fixed day: Monday the south, Wednesday the centre, Thursday the north. So you know exactly when the crates will be at your door.
Onze week
- MaZuid-NLA2 · Den Bosch → Maastricht
- DiAmsterdamOost · Zuidoost
- WoMidden-NLUtrecht · Apeldoorn
- DoNoord-NLA28 · t/m Groningen
- VrAmsterdamOost · Zuidoost
- ZaAmsterdamZuidoost
Regio-dag Stadsroute Amsterdam
Amsterdam Zuidoost
1100–1109Zuidoost · Bijlmer
DinsdagDonderdagVrijdagZaterdag
Amsterdam Oost
1091–1098Oost · Watergraafsmeer · Indische Buurt
DinsdagVrijdag
For the other Amsterdam districts we schedule a fixed delivery day — just call or message us.
Check your delivery day
Try 1102 (Zuidoost) or 6211 (Maastricht · Monday).
Do you deliver abroad? See our export to Europe →
In figures
Scale you can taste.
70+
Years of wholesale
On the Amsterdam market since 1955.
50 ton
Fresh per week
About forty pallets a week, year round.
9
Countries of origin
Three continents, one route to Amsterdam.
63
Top brands
Alongside our own Karsten line.
In development
What's on the way.
Karsten has always run on trust: a note, a phone call, a handshake. We're extending that with handy tools, not paperwork.
- Phase 2First in line
Ordering via WhatsApp
Reply in the app to the list we send you. Your standing order, faster.
- Phase 2
Live tracking of the van
You see our driver on the map, with a precise ETA for your street.
- Phase 2
Trade account
Business customers get fixed prices, automatic invoicing and repeat orders.