In week 43, Essen-based potato wholesaler von der Stein was able to deliver the first newly harvested sweet potatoes from the Pottbäcker farm in the Lower Rhine region. "The new marketing season has got off to a good start, with good quality and predominantly large tubers over 500 grams that meet the requirements of our food retail customers. In terms of marketing, the only problem we're having is the low price level of the US product, which the regional sweet potatoes can't keep up with," says Managing Director Philipp von der Stein on enquiry.
For five years now, the potato wholesaler has been marketing regional sweet potatoes from its partner Pottbäcker, which produces the root vegetable on a fairly large scale (FreshPlaza.de reported). Von der Stein now supplies around 50 regional food retail markets with sweet potatoes from the Lower Rhine region. "It is an attractive product from regional cultivation that is enjoying increasing popularity. In the past season, we were able to run several major food retail promotions in which fresh produce and sweet potato crisps were offered side by side at the point of sale. In this respect, I can already see further growth potential."
Philipp von der Stein shows freshly harvested sweet potatoes from the Pottbäcker farm in the Lower Rhine region. They mainly produce the standard Bellevue variety.
Climate change is having a positive effect, both in terms of cultivation and the marketing of the tubers. Von der Stein: "Thanks to the predominantly good weather conditions in combination with state-of-the-art storage technology, we had an almost seamless transition between the old and new harvest. Compared to ware potatoes, sweet potato sales are less dependent on the weather, although demand is somewhat higher in winter. Although sales slow down slightly in spring, there is a steady flow of goods in the second half of the season."
Volume increase and positive climate effect
The potato wholesaler is taking a two-pronged approach and currently offers imported goods from Egypt and Israel in addition to regional sweet potatoes. "The ratios are now around 50-50. We could offer only regional sweet potatoes, but then we would be sold out much earlier, which would not be in the customer's interest," says von der Stein.
He points to the sharp rise in sweet potato sales, which is largely due to regional cultivation. "A few years ago, we delivered around 80 crates a week, today we are delivering 160 crates a week, which is double that. In this respect, we are confident about the future of this product pillar, especially as climate change also plays into the hands of regional cultivation."
Images: Potato wholesaler H. von der Stein GmbH
For more information:
Philipp von der Stein
Kartoffelgroßhandel H. von der Stein GmbH
Papestraße 56/58
45147 Essen
T: +49 (0) 201 77 42 35 / 79 33 77
Telefax: +49 (0) 201 / 78 06 09
[email protected]
www.kartoffel-vonderstein.de
www.pottbaecker.com