"The idea is to offer fresh potatoes with quick cooking time"

Parmentine wants to enable the French to continue eating 100% natural potatoes while reducing the number of problems associated with preparing them. To this end, it created a new range of fresh, pre-cooked potatoes in "Easy & Good" trays. This innovation, presented at SIAL, will be available to consumers on supermarket shelves from March/April 2025.

Bringing convenience to consumers
"This is the first time we have gone outside of our core activity, which consists of offering fresh raw potatoes in nets. We wanted to innovate in the fruit and vegetable department by bringing a certain form of convenience to the consumer," explains Laury Foiselle, marketing director at Parmentine. "Today, the French think that fresh raw potatoes take a long time to cook and are difficult to prepare. People have less and less time to cook and want products that are quicker and easier to prepare."

A tray with 6 different products
This resulted in the creation of 6 different trays with fresh, pre-cooked and cut potatoes. "It is exactly the same product, from the same network of producers. The idea is to save the consumer time in preparing and cooking the potatoes by pre-steaming them." The trays come in 6 varieties: Chips (3 minutes cooking time), Salad and hashbrown potatoes (6 minutes cooking time), Gratin and hashbrown potatoes (6 minutes cooking time), Baked and mashed potatoes (presented in large cubes that only need to be mashed after 5 minutes cooking time), Roasted potatoes (2 minutes cooking time) and Potatoes (6 minutes cooking time). "For each product, the varieties have been carefully selected to retain the authentic taste of the potatoes."

A raw product, free from additives and preservatives
This new product has undergone very little processing. "It is only the raw product, pre-cooked and peeled (except for the Roasted potatoes and Potatoes). We wanted to continue to offer the most raw potatoes possible but cooked in record time. There are no additives or preservatives, the aim being above all to help consumers eat healthy while reducing preparation time." This aim is reflected in the best-before date, which is 20 days from the factory gate.

An innovation that sparks interest
Although the product has not yet been launched, it is already attracting interest from buyers. "We have had a good reception from our clients, who deplore the lack of innovation in the fruit and vegetable department. They are also aware that the potato is a product that works well but comes up against obstacles, and they are pleased with Parmentine's ambition to remove them. It is now up to us to turn this project into a great success, which may eventually enable us to equip all our stations with a packaging line."