“Potatoes in steam packaging a growing segment”

“We think it’s important to join trends and respond to the renewed food culture. We therefore introduced Pomvit, the steam packaging for potatoes, years ago, for the simple reason that we strongly believe that fast, fresh and healthy can go together quite well,” says Peter van Steenkiste from Warnez, the company specialised in supplying several potato varieties in various types of packaging. 

“Fast and easy are increasingly the norms in today’s society and our increasingly renewing food culture,” he continues. “This fortunately doesn’t mean our food should lose quality. We think a fast but healthy meal should be possible at every time of day. Pomvit is a concept of steam cooking that meets all the possible requirements we put to ourselves nowadays for tasty and healthy food.”

At Pomvit, the potatoes, with skin, are packed in a microwavable packaging. “This makes consumers feel they’re doing their own cooking, because after quickly heating the potatoes in the microwave you could, if so desired, continue to be creative with the potatoes.” Peter emphasises that steam cooking in packaging is a unique concept: “Because of the integration of a steam valve in the packaging, the potatoes are evenly cooked in the microwave and they won’t dry out thanks to the steam in the bag. We ensure that the potatoes in the bag are all the same size. Depending on size, preparation time is between 4 and 9 minutes. The skin ensures added flavour, less vitamin loss, and aromas are better maintained thanks to the steam technique. This ensures a different flavour experience than processed or pre-cooked industrial potatoes, in any case.”

Pomvit is one of the few own brands of Warnez, and has been around for some time now. “In the meantime, similar concepts are also being introduced under own brands of the customers, and this segment grows annually. It might remain a niche, but it’s an increase similar to organic, and repeat purchases are high, which indicates customer satisfaction. About three per cent of supplied packaging to Warnez is a steam packaging by now,” Peter says.

Target audiences for potatoes in steam packaging are students, singles, small households and pensioners. “And there’s still much potential. Some of these groups will only become bigger, considering the current evolution of the population. It therefore makes sense that we want to focus more on this particular segment in future,” Peter concludes.