At the Bio-AHV symposium, which took place at the same time as Biofach in Nuremberg, industry representatives discussed the future of organic products in the out-of-home catering sector. Manuel Pentz from the company of the same name used his own experience to provide insights into the potential of affordable organic ready-cuts in the catering industry. "What are we waiting for?" Pentz asked. "The solutions are on the table, the offer is there – now it's about boosting demand! It will be crucial that we do not continue to wait, but take action. Communication, education and reliable partnerships along the entire value chain will play a key role. The success of organic regional products depends largely on practical advice and targeted communication."
© Pentz GmbH & Co.KG
Short distances, low logistics costs, maximum efficiency
Pentz began by looking back at the impressive development of his company in recent years. The family-run company, based in Essingen, celebrated its 75th birthday in 2023 and now employs around 75 people. In particular, the production volume in the ready-cut sector has increased tenfold in recent years. The company's current range includes approximately 750 ready-cuts, a third of which are organic. Pentz only started offering organic fresh-cut products in the fall of 2021. The supplier network has been greatly expanded in just over three years. Since September 2024, the company has also been an official Bioland partner, focusing entirely on Bioland products from Baden-Württemberg. The short transport distances between the respective partners and the processing location ensure that the goods are always fresh. Pentz confirms that the aim is to keep transportation distances short, logistics costs low, and efficiency high.
© Pentz GmbH & Co.KG
Manuel Pentz during his presentation at the Bio-AHV conference in Nuremberg. Pentz is also a partner of the EIP project, which was carried out by the DHBW Heilbronn and the University of Hohenheim. The project examined how (organic) regional fresh-cut products can be efficiently integrated into mass catering.
Creating regional organic ranges
Together with the project partners and the respective Bioland operations, concepts were created for offering existing organic products as industrial products as well. Pentz: "At the beginning, we sometimes needed more products than the producers had in stock because demand was skyrocketing. Based on this experience, we are now negotiating a specific cultivation plan with our producer partners so that we can offer a wide variety in the appropriate quantities. We buy everything from the producer, and what we don't need for the industry is ultimately sold as commercial goods. This gives the producer a certain security of sales. We take the first step and run the risk to create great regional organic ranges that are also attractively priced and completely change the existing market."
Pentz's supplier base currently includes larger Bioland producers as well as many smaller businesses. The organic carrot is the absolute top seller, followed by lettuce and various root vegetables.
Organic with logic
The company's future strategy is based on three pillars. "First, we want to create trust through reliability along the entire supply chain. We offer the producer a certain level of security of purchase and also require this from the respective customer. The second pillar, 'resources with added value', is about the holistic utilization of our yields, for example by processing oversized carrots into ready-cuts that would otherwise not find a buyer in the trade. Finally, we want to move the sector towards offering organic produce with logic. In practice, this means that we don't necessarily have to offer everything if there are more reasonable alternatives. Instead of exclusive, high-priced organic bell peppers from Baden-Württemberg, which theoretically exist, we could, for example, offer a less expensive organic carrot that is available in abundance."
Photo credit: Pentz GmbH & Co. KG
For more information:
Manuel Pentz
Pentz GmbH & Co.KG
Willy-Messerschmittstr.18
73457 Essingen
Tel. : +49 07365-964680
Fax : +49 07365-9222132
E-Mail: ma.pentz@pentz-online.de
www.pentz-online.de
https://www.eip-fresh-cut-cluster.de/gemeinschaftsverpfleger