TRADE AND MARKET I NG Fruit Logistica: the meeting place for the fresh world already 25 years Jansen Dongen: ‘Potato from boring to trendy’ Because of the cold, the Spanish growers couldn’t fulfil their obligations this year for leaf vegetables such as lettuce and spinach sometimes even resulting in empty shelves. What does the cold start of 2017 mean for the supply of early potatoes? Adriaan Jansen of trading company Jansen-Dongen isn’t worried about it: ‘Egypt and Israel were on time. That’s working. Malta may be a bit later. But that’s what they say every year’, he smiles. ‘There’s always something happening somewhere. But there’ll always be potatoes.’ At Jansen-Dongen they’re more worried about the consumer choosing to include potatoes less frequently on the menu. A development they’d like to help turn around. Last winter, they opened their own potato restaurant in the town of Breda: ‘The Boys from Sand and Clay’. The chef prepares his own selection of contemporary dishes, all based on the potato. Another example of focusing on the potato is the sweater José Voss-Müskens, the marketing assistant, wears. ‘Hutspot’ (Dutch speciality with mashed potatoes, carrots and onions), it says with embroidered letters in a style that suits the modern world of fashion. ‘This shows exactly what this is all about. The potato should go from boring to trendy’, says Voss-Müskens. HZPC displays eating moments and target groups No new concepts at HZPC this year, instead a focus on the potato consumption market. On two big walls, the trading company showed the target groups among the consumers and the healthy components of the potato. ‘It’s quite simple really’, says Douwe Lodewijk. ‘We want to show that at every moment of the week, and for every lifestyle, there’s a good moment to eat potatoes. In broad lines: fast and easy during the week and a little more elaborate during the weekend. In addition, we show exactly what’s in a potato. We need to continue to emphasise that a potato is healthy and fits an active lifestyle.’ Niche products complete As part of the total volume, they don’t appear to be much, but Nedato still managed to put the organic potato line it introduced last year, Pommily organic, together with its coloured potatoes, in the spotlights. ‘A supplier should be able to offer a complete range. It’s as simple as that’, says export sales woman Vicky Leemans. ‘The organic market is a niche market, but it’s growing. Our organic potatoes are sold in four hundred Dutch supermarkets and we’re seeing an increasing interest, especially among young people.’ As a trend in the conventional segment, Leemans says that, among other things, the packaging is getting small22 Potato World 2017 • number 3 Pagina 21
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