Veggie snack packs, new impulse buy

“As a parent myself, it has always been a challenge to get young people to eat salads,” says Jorgen Nielsen, Director of Northern Greens.

The Danish company, devoted mostly to the distribution of salads, roots and snacks, attended Fruit Logistica, where it presented its latest range of products targeted at young people, with healthy snacks, including snack carrots and peas in the pod. Director Jorgen Nielsen said that, “We have found sweet varieties that we believe children will like and we offer them conveniently packed and ready-to-eat. Prices will vary depending on packaging, sizing and country, but these will never be higher than those of the alternative unhealthy snacks.”



From a marketing perspective, this new range is intended to capitalise on current trends, offering a chance to consumers looking to eat healthier to provide their children with healthy food in a convenient manner. “We would like our line to become a replacement for sweets as impulse buys when paying at the supermarket. The flagship product is the snack carrots which are sourced year-round with good quality from Denmark. These are a perfect fit with the concept because they have a long shelf life of up to 1 to 2 weeks without refrigeration. We also kept this in mind while selecting the right variety for the peas. This is also made possible by having good packaging with microfilm,” explains Jorgen.



The new line will be commercially launched in May, with the full assortment available in June, and is intended as a long-term project. Jorgen says that, “It will start in Scandinavia and Germany, where there has been some interest, but of course we are open to distribute it in other markets, as I believe that all people in Europe in the coming years will have increased interest in healthy ‘on the way’ snacks as an alternative to confectionary sweets.”

The company, based in Denmark, but also with a sourcing office in Spain, started its activity exclusively in Scandinavia, but has gradually aimed to prolong the season with production from other countries. “We are collaborating with packing stations, as well as retailers, with the retail sector actually getting bigger and bigger,” states Jorgen.

The company’s aim, in addition to offering the best quality, is to work very close to the growers. Jorgen Nielsen concludes that “We travel a lot to ensure that the quality at departure is as expected, so we are selling trust.”