2024 - Your Commission at Work

HAMBURG VISIT As the largest port city in Germany, a visit to Hamburg was part of this past year’s travels. Store checks were conducted in Hamburg to review the country of origin and quality of sweetpotatoes being sold, as well as meet with an importer based at Hamburg Wholesale Market. The team took a tour of the market, showing examples of sweetpotatoes being sold by other importers, as well as giving a tour of the importer’s own warehouse facilities and packing equipment. As part of the meeting, valuable insights were shared into the key elements that influence purchasing decisions which provided further exploration into how we target importers when engaging with them about sweetpotatoes. Some key learnings from this visit were that the window is getting smaller for US sweetpotatoes in Europe, with Egypt being a big ’up and comer’, along with Spain and Portugal also coming onto the scene.

As expected, price is key for retailers and is the biggest element that feeds into buying decisions. As it stands nothing else comes into consideration, so educating retailers needs to be a focus in the German market. Finally, quality must be consistent if the products are being priced as premium, otherwise, 30% - 40% rejects will cause importers and wholesalers to stop sourcing.

DOGK EVENT Deutsche Obst und Gemüse Kongress (translated as German Fruit and Vegetable Congress)

In September 2023, Liquid organized a spot for NCSPC to exhibit at Germany’s leading fresh produce event, DOGK in Dusseldorf. The event was attended by industry experts and decision-makers from the fruit and vegetable sector and was an opportunity to network and learn about new trends. Our stand was very impactful and was noted by many attendees as vibrant and eye-catching. The cart of sweetpotatoes was a conversation starter, and our stand position within the expo was ideal for foot traffic being at the top of the escalators and close to the seminar hall.

The event highlighted the key current challenges the sector is facing in Germany, including the highly competitive market, rising costs, and the impact of varying growing conditions on the quality and quantity of crops. It also gave an insight into ongoing challenges including food retail logistics, complex supply chains, stringent regulations, long-established retailer relationships, and seasonality demand. The key learning was that DOGK is more of a networking event, where key stakeholders in the industry meet, rather than a business-generating platform. Not to be underestimated, however, is that many opinion leaders attend from the fruit and vegetable sector. Our attendance was a great start to imprint on industry and reintroduce North Carolina sweetpotatoes to the German trade.

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