TRADE AND MARKET I NG Successful Finnish market introduction of potato strips Convenience in the preparation of potatoes is an important selling point for consumers, which is why, just before Christmas 2019, the Finnish company Pohjolan Peruna Oy, based in Vihanti, introduced a new and versatile convenience product in the form of frozen potato strips in the K supermarket chain. This product, called WOKSI®, is an inspiration of the Dutch companies HZPC and Kiremko located in Montfoort. B ack in 2011, business development manager Gert Jan Feddes of HZPC had come across a special and tasty potato product in China with the name Tudousi. The Chinese cut these potato strips by hand and consume them fresh. ‘Because this tasty preparation method is totally unknown in Europe and the rest of the world, we came up with the idea of turning it into a new potato product. Tudousi is a very labour-intensive product to make and only has a short shelf life, so we decided to develop an industrial version of this authentic product with a long shelf life and consistent quality. We contacted Kiremko for the technical implementation, as we already have regular contact with this specialist in the production of potato processing lines. We meet the Kiremko people regularly in emerging markets and explore with them the processing characteristics of our locally-grown varieties in the new French-fry factories’, Feddes explains. Looking for collaboration Subsequently, HZPC and Kiremko joined Together with the company Pohjolan Peruna Oy, the first market introduction of the potato strips took place at the end of 2019, Eric van Oorschot, Gert Jan Feddes and Pekka Sarlund tell us. 44 Potato World 2020 • number 1 Pagina 43
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