Potatoes have been becoming less popular for a while now. That is a shame, thinks Geoffrey Delbaere of the Belgian company, Warnez. “It is such a versatile, sustainable, healthy product. It should be considered a superfood. That is why it is important that we not let it fall by the wayside. We must make potatoes sexier and more popular. We have, therefore, put a tremendous amount of effort into convenience products in recent years. Here, however, we want the core product - the potato - to remain."
Charlotte Warnez and Geoffrey Delbaere at Fruit Logistica 2020.
“The trend toward convenience is continuing unabated. We must adapt our products to that. But, we must also retain our volume of unprocessed potatoes. All convenience products are directed at consumers."
"We have already introduced a puree pack. People can use this to easily make an exceptional potato puree. We have also introduced 100% parboiled potatoes (with or without herbs). These can be finished in a pan, the oven, or microwave. These products make it more convenient for consumers to eat potatoes," says Geoffrey.
Warnez sells its seed potatoes in garden centers.
Warnez Potatoes has not added only convenience products. They have also added another new product to their range - seed potatoes for the home farmer. "We usually sell these seed potatoes to growers. But we now have small packets for home farmers."
"Besides product innovations, we have been focusing on packaging in recent years too. This packaging is from our own Warnez brand. It can mostly be found at wholesalers. It will soon be manufactured from bioplastic," continues Geoffrey.
"We also have ream packaging that can be used in vertical machines. These are made from almost 100% paper. It is not always easy to switch to sustainable packaging materials. However, we have noticed that our clients are ready for this switch. Especially if they receive the correct information," Geoffrey concludes.
A 1kg bag of Semoulin potatoes in packaging made from +95% paper. It is, therefore, biodegradable.
100% parboiled potatoes, done by pasteurization.
For more information:
Geoffrey Delbaere
Warnez Potatoes
2L Marialoopsesteenweg
B-8700, Tielt, Belgium
Tel: +32 (0) 051 400 812
Email: info@warnezpotatoes.be
Website: www.warnezpotatoes.be