TRADE AND MARKETING tion of how we, as the potato branch, can change the long-term traditional image potatoes have had into a more progressive one. In Western countries, the consumer usually stands before the supermarket shelf and chooses the potatoes he wants to eat in three seconds flat. He buys just one bag of potatoes and uses them for all kinds of different potato dishes. This is often not a problem, but sometimes the consumer is also disappointed. And what will he/she buy the next time? I’m convinced that we must tell the consumer in a clear fashion that not all potatoes are the same. We must teach him that there are differences, differences in preparation, in taste, but also in the perception of eating a potato. Well, it’s high time to start thinking differently. How? In an extensive interview, Herman Verveld, HZPC’s Commercial Director and Retail Fresh Sector Manager explains what this new thinking exactly means. ‘It is high time to start thinking differently’ ‘A How did you find out that the consumer doesn’t know a lot about potatoes? t HZPC, we’ve long been pondering the ques‘I’ll tell you some surprising results of one of our consumer surveys in the Netherlands. The fact is that 67 percent of the consumers think that firm potatoes are the best for chipping at home! The idea is that you need firm potatoes for strong and long fries. In short, our problem is that, despite the information on the packaging, the potato industry is just not reaching the consumer. That’s because we often still think and carry on from the trader’s perspective and not enough from the perspective of the consumer. What would be much better is to inform the consumer properly that potato varieties have different tastes and need to be prepared differently. Our biggest concern for the future is to bind the young generation, aged 21-35, to the potato. Research shows that the current 35+ generation definitely has potatoes on the menu 2 to 3 times a week, but we must also see it as an opportunity to promote the versatility of the potato to the younger generation. ‘We’re working too much from the trader’s perspective and are forgetting the consumer.’ This is big target group. How are you going to reach them all? ‘As I’ve said before, the current 35+ generation eats enough potatoes, so, as potato branch, we must focus on the younger 21-35 generation. These consumers have learnt to eat potatoes at an early age, but we seem to have lost them as fresh potato eaters during their study period. From a potato perception study in 2011, carried out among youngsters aged round 21 jointly with and by the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, it was shown that this target group has absolutely nothing against eating fresh potatoes. But they are hardly aware that there are differences between potatoes. Other questions and considerations that emerged were: “How do you prepare potatoes?” And: ‘The preparation takes quite long. We don’t like that. Help us with recipes and ideas to quickly put something creative on the table.’ What’s more, we’re not really helping the young consumer to make a choice in the supermarket. It doesn’t really matter in which shop in which country in the world you are, what you see is a heap of bags of potatoes, sometimes with colour codes, occasionally with a label with information, but it mostly is: You’re on your own, so just get on with it. And we’re surprised that fresh potatoes still have a stodgy and stuffy image!’ How do you propose to help this group? ‘This should be done in different ways such as more appealing and informative packaging, but also a clearer route in the shop to find the desired potatoes. For this purpose we’ve devised the 3-1-0 rule. This means that you start choosing 3 metres from the shelf. From that point, the consumer has an overview of the total of available potatoes combined with the different options. This determines the first step towards a choice. The next step is 1 metre: what does this shelf carry for me. You 4 Potato World 2012 • number 2 Pagina 3

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