Our Market is a consumer-driven market concept that has come over from France. In the Netherlands, the initiative will soon start with table potatoes in 2 kilo bags in 320 Coop stores. The first potatoes come from arable farmer Dingeman Burgers. Potato cooperative Nedato takes care of the packaging and logistics.
Nearly three thousand consumers who participate in the Onze Markt community were allowed to fill in a questionnaire with their wishes for the range of table potatoes on the store shelf. They opt for potatoes of Dutch origin. Also PlanetProof certified, grown on non-plowed land because of better soil diversity, without the use of crop protection agents for a smooth skin, unwashed and packed in a net are also important to consumers.
Fair product
The concept for Onze Markt comes from France and was taken up in the Netherlands by brother and sister Simon and Hester Schilt and Minne Baukema. According to Hester Schilt, the aim of the initiators is to put a fair product on the market
- “As a producer, we offer the farmer a fixed price for three years” – HESTER SCHILT, INITIATOR OF OUR MARKET
‘By fair we mean fair for nature, fair for the consumer and fair for the farmer. The concept is unique in that we offer the farmer as producer a fixed price for a period of three years.’
Association
Our Market is managed by an association of which consumers can become a member for 1 euro. These consumers form a community and have a say in the conditions that agricultural products must meet that will be placed on the shelves under the Onze Markt brand.
• Read also: ‘Our Market’ starts consultation on requirements for potatoes
The idea for this concept arose five years ago in France, when a group of consumers decided to set up their own food brand together, initially for the sale of milk. This turned out to be such a great success that more than thirty agricultural products are now sold in this way in a large number of French supermarket chains. Schilt says that the campaign with table potatoes for Our Market is the baptism of fire in the Netherlands. From December 6, the potatoes will be offered in 2 kilo packages in 320 stores of supermarket chain Coop.
Also for eggs and milk
‘We are going to roll out this concept across several supermarket chains. In addition, we are already developing a questionnaire for eggs and milk on which our members can express their preferences. Apples are also nominated to be tackled in this way.’ For the potatoes from Onze Markt, potato cooperative Nedato in Oud-Beijerland, South Holland, handles the processing and packaging and logistics to supermarket chain Coop.
Conditions
‘We also look for potatoes from our growers that meet the requirements of Our Market’, explains director Wim van de Ree of Nedato. ‘We have a number of growers in our membership base that we can turn to here.’ For the time being, Nedato packs potatoes of the Melody variety in 2 kilo bags. These potatoes are slightly floury and have a white, smooth skin. Characteristic of the potato campaign of Onze Markt is that the potatoes are unwashed and not all beautifully shaped.
Wide sizing
‘A bent tuber and minor visual defects are also accepted’, reports the Nedato director. ‘We are also allowed to maintain a wide range of sizes.’ According to Van Ree, depending on demand, Nedato will certainly be able to continue supplying table potatoes for Our Market for the time being. In addition to Melody, other potato varieties with the requested specifications qualify.
Sufficient potential
The director of Nedato is curious about how Our Market is being approached as a concept in the Netherlands. He calls the success in France impressive and shows sufficient potential. ‘This is a good example of a shorter connection between growers and consumers. It is attractive for us to participate and as a growers’ association we are actually obliged to do so at our stand’, says Van Ree.
Non-turning tillage
The first arable farmer to supply his table potatoes to Onze Markt is Dingeman Burgers from Zevenbergschen Hoek in North Brabant. He grows 40 hectares of table potatoes in a rotation with onions, sugar beets, maize and canned vegetables. His experience with non-turning tillage is an important reason that Nedato approached him for Onze Markt. Burgers has been growing potatoes on non-plowed land for five years because of the positive effects on soil quality and to make his fields more resistant to extreme weather conditions.
To sort
The farmers’ potatoes are also PlanetProof certified. Before delivery, he sorts the Melody’s at 40 to 70 millimeters. He can dispose of the oversize via Nedato for another destination. What appeals to Burgers in the concept of Our Market is the fair reward he receives for his efforts to grow his potatoes as sustainably as possible.
‘In cultivation I have to deal with extra costs because of the requirements for PlanetProof. Furthermore, over the years I have also had to learn to deal with non-turning cultivation. Matters such as fertilization and anticipating seasonal influences in particular require extra attention’, says the North Brabant arable farmer. ‘All in all, I’m satisfied with the way table potatoes are being grown. Especially in drought conditions, non-inversion tillage provides an advantage. I now estimate my yields at 40 to 45 tons per hectare, so I assume that non-inversion tillage on my farm will no longer affect the kilos’, says Burgers.
Grower receives 0.52 euros per kilo for his potatoes
- Characteristic of Our Market’s concept is the transparency about pricing and the margins for the various links in the our market. A schematic overview of the distribution of the consumer price can be found on the website of Onze Markt. The table potatoes will be offered in the 320 stores of supermarket chain Coop from 6 December in 2 kg bags for 2.71 euros. Of this, 0.17 euros is VAT, 0.14 euros is for Onze Markt and 1.36 euros is spent on packaging and packaging, distribution, storage and sale in the supermarket.
- Finally, an amount of 1.04 euros remains for the Dutch potato grower, or a kilo price of 0.52 euros. ‘Our starting point is that we offer products under the Onze Markt brand name for the right consumer price, in which the farmer, as a producer, receives a good reward for his cultivation method,’ says initiator Hester Schilt. Both director Wim van de Ree of Nedato and arable farmer Dingeman Burgers from Zevenbergschen Hoek are satisfied with the margin that is charged for the potato grower. ‘For us, more than 50 cents per kilo is a good price for the potatoes,’ says Burgers.
- ‘With this I receive a good reward for the costs I incur for the PlanetProof certification and the extra effort required for the non-inversion tillage.’ Van de Ree points out that Onze Markt’s pricing is in principle fixed for the entire year. ‘Growers will ultimately also have to bear the extra costs for longer storage in the event of later delivery.
