Better perception on the potato shelf

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The vast amount of products available today leaves the consumer with a great choice. What do you have to do to make sure that your product is chosen? De Bey Communicatie & Vormgeving has been working with HZPC for years on answering that question. At times even with award-winning success. What is the secret? InZpire talks to Peter de Bey, Manager, and Jurgen Steenwelle, responsible for strategy and design.

Offer choice

Premium brand producers invest heavily in marketing concepts that increasingly respond to the consumer’s perception. However, this is still not adequately reflected on the potato shelf. ‘Generally speaking, it all looks the same. How is the average consumer supposed to choose?’ observes Peter de Bey. ‘It is time to make it easier for the consumer and to respond better to the consumer’s perception.’

There is a wide range of perceptions to take into account

Stand out in 1 second

Jurgen Steenwelle explains: ‘Packaging plays a crucial role, because the average consumer no longer pauses to think about which potato he is buying. When he walks past the shelf and sees the packaging, it should only take him 1 second to think: I’ll buy that one.’ Attention has to be drawn and interest aroused immediately. Do you know your target group well enough to do that?

Everyone is different and so too are their desires. A person’s lifestyle, health, work, social network and how he sees himself all have an impact on the choices that are made. A wide range of perceptions therefore have to be taken into account when introducing a product to the market.

Tell the story

To create the right perception, it is important that you address the consumer personally with your product and tell him what the product can mean for him. The creative concept has to highlight the qualities of the product that are important to the consumer.

Example: 58 Potatoes

Peter de Bey mentions the new HZPC concept, 58 Potatoes. ‘This potato with its uniquely low calorific value ties in well with the lifestyle of the consumer for whom this product has been developed: the young consumer that is conscious about his health and what he eats. This consumer wants pure products. 58 Potatoes has therefore been introduced to the market as a superfood. The qualities of this potato fit in with this consumer’s perception, but now we have to tell him that.

The first trigger has to be in the packaging. The message on the packaging tells the consumer that the potato is 'loaded with good stuff and low on calories'. Even the name has been chosen to reflect a healthy lifestyle (58 kcal per 100 grams). The design of the packaging is noticeably fresh, modern and creative. It's a packaging this consumer doesn't mind being seen with as he too considers his own image important. More about how 58 Potatoes appeals to the consumer

HZPC & marketing

HZPC not only produces seed potatoes, but also thinks about how the potato product can be further promoted within the entire chain. This is why HZPC regularly develops new marketing concepts. The power of the product itself and the creative concept that evolves from that have to complement each other seamlessly. ‘Collaboration truly is a condition for success’, Peter de Bey tells us. ‘The substantive knowledge comes from the people at HZPC and we add the creative ingredients. These should reinforce each other and is therefore a joint process. Everything that has been conceived has been conceived together with the people at HZPC. We are critical towards one another. Challenging each other yields a better result. That’s something we can all be ultimately proud of.’