Dutch open pop-up asparagus store

Sausage rolls, soup, wine, chips, ice cream, pies and smoothies are products that people tend not to associate with asparagus. Yet that is the case in Dé Aspergewinkel (The Asparagus Shop) in Den Bosch. “Asparagus is an extremely versatile vegetable, you can do anything with the white gold,” was the message during the official opening of this pop-up store yesterday. “Asparagus combined with ham and salmon is a classic, but you can do so much more with them. We want to position it as a dish. Besides, people can buy cooking utensils, cookbooks and kits in the shop, and we hold cooking demonstrations and workshops. Experience, taste and discover!”

Michiel F. van Ginkel, manager of ZON fruit & vegetables, says that they drove a food truck through Amsterdam to promote asparagus last year. “This was a fun idea, but the disadvantage was that we didn’t reach that many consumers in total. With this shop, the reach will be much larger. We mean to get young people, especially those living north of the rivers, eating asparagus. Prices are currently low, so there’s no reason for consumers not to buy asparagus.” He is satisfied with the cooperation with MAGGI, part of Nestlé. “This company already has a large reach, so we can reach even more consumers because of them.”

By now, the shop has been open for two weeks, and it’s crowded every day. According to Michiel Geraedts, Commercial Manager of ZON fruit & vegetables, the success of the pop-up store leaves him wanting more. “We are currently bringing asparagus to the attention of people until 24 June, but this could possibly also be done for bell peppers and tomatoes in future. We are very enthusiastic, the number of sold asparagus is much bigger than we expected. We want to keep the threshold as low as possible, and especially seduce younger people to give asparagus a try. We want to increase the penetration in particular. This is 27.7 now, but it would be good if we could get that up to 28.5. The shop also has an educational character: you can learn how asparagus grows and how they are harvested.” Geraedts indicates that he received many enthusiastic responses from various directions. “We even received a request to start a pop-up store in London.”

Making direct contact with the consumer is relatively new for ZON fruit & vegetables. “We therefore entered into talks with Young Perfect, a company specialised in brand and product promotion towards the consumer. Together, we came up with ideas to introduce people to asparagus in various ways, and creating experience surrounding that. The great thing is that the product is central, it’s all about the white gold. The shop is a bit like an Apple Store for asparagus.” Michiel sees the promotion of the asparagus as going across sectors. “In any case, we can learn much from other branches, and it’s also important to work together. For example, because of the partnership with MAGGI, we have discovered the wonderful options of cross-selling. ZON fruit & vegetables is at an advanced stage of exposing the DNA of vegetables, and deciding which substances can be applied to new products in other sectors. We do this in cooperation with agriculturalists, universities and A-brand suppliers, and it offers opportunities for new markets and products.”