The content of this blog is the Potato World vision column by Koen van Hartevelt published in PotatoWorld magazine 2021/02.
A week ago, I attended a webinar by an online retailer who presented their supply chain and the many challenges they were faced with. I’m convinced that this way of actively sharing knowledge with your community will give them a competitive advantage and allow them to excel in their market segment.
Last week, my 72-year-old mother asked if I could invite her to Clubhouse too. Clubhouse is seen as a new phenomenon such as Twitter and Instagram, where not the image, but the audio is central. Its success here again lies in sharing information within ‘rooms’ of a certain target group that you can join and ask experts questions. The fact that my 72-year-old mother, but also my 30-year-old colleague wants to join, indicates the power of the app and the Clubhouse community. New standards of joint communication are being set!
I’ve been in conversation in the ‘Our Market’ group for some time now. This is a consumer movement with the ambition of bringing those products to the retail shelves that the consumers themselves have decided on. In France, this movement started with milk and there it has become the second largest player in retail with this product. ‘Our market’ is starting in the Netherlands with our beautiful, tasty and versatile table potato. Here, the community determines the packaging, the fair price for the grower, the method of cultivation and the price of the product in the shop. They do this on the basis of a questionnaire. As soon as the product is on the shelves, they’ll select the products they’ve chosen themselves. The retailer who doesn’t have the ‘Our Market’ product on his shelves, might potentially lose an existing customer (‘Our Market’ member).
These new business models are driven by a very enthusiastic and fast-growing community that makes the rules itself rather than following them. I’m curious if this will result in a new standard for products in the supermarket. He who pays the piper calls the tune!
Koen van Hartevelt, Commercial Director of Nedato
Want to read more about the potato crop and the potato sector?
Our Potato handbook is a global potato university in 1 book!
Buy your copy today and get a one-year free subscription to PotatoWorld magazine.
