“Princesse Amandine brings life to potato shelves”

Successfulbrands in the fresh produce sector are few and far between, but sometimescompanies do take the plunge. One of those is Pomuni, market leader in potatoesin Belgium. They will introduce a new product in the summer of 2015: PrincesseAmandine, the first potato brand to be introduced in Belgium, a concept that’sbeen for sale in France for five years now.

Pomuni isone of the distributors in France, while Belgium will have two distributors:Pom’Alliance and Pomuni. Raf Sels of Pomuni: “We see it as a challenge. The bigdifference with other brands in fresh produce is that you can immediatelyconsume those products, while a potato takes some preparation.” They believe inthe product though, the commercial manager says. Particularly in times whenconsumption of fresh potatoes is down, “we have to do something about that.”

Marketing

Damien DeKoninck, one of the people behind the success of the Pink Lady apple, is alsoresponsible for the Princesse Amandine strategy. The goal is to get in the salestop 5 in Belgium within 5 years. “The idea is to get the product noticedthrough marketing and tastings,” Raf says. Despite initial apprehension fromsupermarkets, they do notice interest in brands at retail chains. The Princess Amandinebrand is supported by ambassador Ghislaine Arabian, a female two-star chef ofBelgian origin.

ThePrincesse Amandine brand has been known in France for five years, where it’sbecome a clear success. Potato sales under this brand increased from 25,000 to34,500 tonnes between 2009 and 2014. The Princesse Amandine brand is positionedin the upper middle segment, just below the true specialties like colouredpotatoes. Raf: “Princesse Amandine is positioned just below that. It’s aspecial product, but still affordable.”

100% French

The potato is ahybrid of the Charlotte and Marianna varieties, and has an elongated andregular shape and a fine skin. The production is 100% French: the ware potatoesare produced in North Picardy, Champagne Beaune and the Saône Valley (soldAugust to May). The new potatoes in Brittany, in the Camargue and the Provence(sold June to July). Thanks to the existing partnership between growers,technicians and packagers, full traceability of Princesse Amandine isguaranteed from field to fork. Raf emphasizes that the production process forPrincesse Amandine follows the strictest hygiene and health standards. “Thepotatoes are weighed and sorted by size before being packaged. That way, theconsumer always gets the same product, and they will be confident in it.Ultimately, they will go blindly for Amandine. We’re convinced of that!”

The Belgian websitefor Princesse Amandine: www.princesse-amandine.be/nl