When Vincent van Gogh painted 'The Potato Eaters' at the end of the nineteenth century, the potato was the most important ingredient in Dutch cuisine. It is therefore logical that Van Gogh portrayed a family around a steaming bowl of potatoes.
Together with professionals in the potato sector, itelligence Benelux is investigating 'The Potato in 2037† The question arose: what would this scene look like in 2037? A family around a 3D printer?
Big changes coming
The potato sector is on the eve of major changes, that's for sure. That is why Marcel Pothof, director of Food & Agriculture at itelligence Benelux, wants to connect professionals in the potato sector to create a joint future vision to come. In this blog we take a closer look at the consumer. Be inspired by the shared vision of Marcel and Joost Smaal, enterprising baker at the Van Maanen Food Group.
Potatoes are no longer on the menu for most Dutch families. Certainly not with young people, they have embraced the ethnic cuisine and prefer to eat pasta, rice, couscous, wraps or noodles. They get fries and like to eat chips, but they hardly cook or bake potatoes themselves. The potato has an old-fashioned taste to them, and some also detest the high calorific value.
Total market grows, margins shrink
The fact that Dutch youth hardly eat potatoes is little cause for concern in the potato sector. After all, worldwide demand is increasing enormously. In third world countries, the high calorific value is welcomed and the cultivation method, which is much more environmentally friendly than that of rice or maize, is praised. In the West, the total consumption of fresh potatoes remains fairly constant and the potential lies in further processing.
The Potato Eaters will therefore continue to exist, but at the same time the growers are seeing the margins evaporate. The potato has become a commodity, a bulk product with no apparent added value. And since the youth is the future, that does not bode well for potato consumption in 2037.
The impact of technological progress on consumers
Consumer eating habits have changed more in the past 50 years than in the 10.000 years before that. The same applies to consumer behaviour. Everyone is available 24/7 and counts on being able to order food or do groceries at any time. About 20 years ago, that need did not exist. Take the Internet of Things (IoT). The fridge that notifies a shopping app when the milk is gone, so that new milk is delivered today. Once this is established, the possibilities are endless.
In his quest for convenience, the consumer will become increasingly demanding, also in the potato sector. Consumers increasingly determine what will be produced, as is the case in other sectors. New forms of distribution and technologies create completely new marketing concepts and lucrative business models. Chains change, links disappear, the consumer decides. Grocery and meal delivery services are popping up like mushrooms. More and more fresh formulas are coming onto the market that add value (and margin) to standard products.
Who are the Potato Eaters in 2037?
In 2037 it will be even more about convenience and healthy food for consumers than it is now. The consumer is looking for authentic products, wants to feel, smell and taste products, but also to get to know the story behind the product. Use all the senses. Experience, authenticity, that's important. Just like variety, because the consumer is looking for products that suit him at that moment. That could be one today, tomorrow the other. We have to deal with that.
The key question is: what's on the menu in 2037? Especially among the young people who now hardly eat potatoes. To discover this, it is important to enter into a dialogue with the consumer. Get rid of your country, take a look at the cuisine of other branches, discover what's going on in the food service, study the menus of trendy restaurants. Only in this way can you discover what is going on, where there are opportunities for the potato and where not.
Tell an authentic story together
We are convinced that the sector will progress much further if the chain partners dare to embark on this journey together. Fresh formulas have proven their added value in other sectors; consumers can be reached more easily and chain partners are stronger together.
We also see opportunities in the potato sector. Build a brand together, a formula. Put the potato back on the market to appeal to young people as well. Tell the authentic, sincere story about the origin of the potato, show what the potato stands for. Make sure the potato does not miss the boat and remains on the menu in the future.
Not choosing is losing!
It is expected that new varieties will appear on the market at a rapid pace in the future. On the one hand, new cultivation technologies, such as cultivation from potato seed, ensure that new varieties are developed much faster than has been the case until now. On the other hand, thanks to technological developments such as IoT, more and more data is available about consumers and their wishes.
Differentiation is becoming easier, but also increasingly important. Because not choosing is losing! Collaboration within the chain is also essential here. Set up living labs together to test what works and what doesn't. Dare to differentiate, to tailor the potatoes to your target group. The possibilities are endless: a diet potato, a sports potato, a family potato, maybe even a pill that contains all the nutrients.
This takes guts, for sure. But whoever leans back will irrevocably lose the battle. However, those who dare to make a timely choice will be able to value the potato better, see their margins increase and take control of the change process within the chain. Who doesn't want that?
The 3D printer is definitely on the table
The advance of the 3D printer is unstoppable, there is a good chance that the Potato Eaters of the year 2037 will indeed print their own potato dish. The only question is: when exactly will this happen? And, more importantly, who will supply the ingredients for this?
How do you see the Potato Eaters in 2037?
We are curious about your vision on future-proof working and that is why we invite you to participate in the discussion LinkedIn group The Potato in 2037† The platform for professionals in the potato sector to talk to each other and share insights about the Potato in 2037† Read more about our vision and activities at our website.
Joost Smaal is an enterprising baker at Van Maanen Food Group. VMFG facilitates its partners to develop, share and secure innovative and meaningful formulas. Such as Bakkers Brigade, gefeliciTAART.nl, Bakker van Maanen, De Verwenbakker and Bakkerij Fuite.
Marcel Pothof is director of Food & Agriculture at itelligence Benelux and wants to feed the world with the right use of data and technology. Based on this ambition, he connects professionals in the potato sector to co-create the future of the potato.