Brand rollout in Dutch marketplace puts Farm Frites in thick of retail race.

Don't look now, but Farm Frites is breaking from the bunched up pack of commodity potato product makers to ride among the brand leaders in Holland's competitive supermarket scene. Quickly gaining national retail market share of five percent after rollout, it is now gearing up to expand offerings beyond an initial launch of nine products distributed through Edah, Konmar and Super de Boer outlets.

Long a major player in the European foodservice sector, where approximately two-thirds of the Oudenhoorn, Holland-based company's annual output is sold under the Farm Frites label, until recently its proprietary brand name was not found on retail packaging offered in the Netherlands. While frozen food aisle shoppers at stores in South America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe have been familiar with the Farm Frites product line for years, many Dutch consumers are only now realizing that the roots of Europe's third largest potato processing company lie in the Netherlands.

"We entered the market on January 5 with a basic assortment of products in color-coded packaging featuring very Dutch-sounding names, such as Hollandse Friet (Holland Fries), Oven Friet (Oven Fries) in 1,000 gram bags, Aardappelkroketjes (Potato Croquettes) in 450 gram packages, and Kronkel Friet (Crinkle-cut Fries) in 750 gram bags," said Jeannette den Boer, international sales manager. "The blue line is formulated for frying. The red range may be oven baked as well as fried, and the green line contains specialties."

The colorful packaging motif depicts attractive product photography juxtaposed with graphic art incorporating the vivid Farm Frites logo amidst a bucolic farmhouse setting. The image, set on a subdued yellow background, portrays warmth and natural wholesomeness along with a potato product serving.

Ryan Beckers has been spearheading the retail drive as the company's brand manager in Western Europe since February of 2004. She took on the challenge after spending three years working to enhance Farm Frites' brand image and supporting sales efforts on the retail and foodservice fronts of Eastern Europe and Russia.

"Our A brands already have a major presence in 13 countries," said Beckers. "Now the time has come to transfer retail market successes scored outside of the Netherlands to the home market."

Like five-time Olympic champion Leontien Zijlaard-Van Moorsel, who wears the colors of sponsor Farm Frites as she competes on the international cycling circuit, the Beckers-Den Boer team is also on the fast track promoting the company's product line among retailers in Holland.

Den Boer, who has a lot of experience in the retail private label and branded foodservice sectors, is working closely with the brand manager to further penetrate the Dutch supermarket trade. No doubt the job of peddling the potato product range has been made easier thanks to brand recognition generated by hard-driving Leontien, who wears the oval-shaped orange, black and white Farm Frites logo emblazoned prominently on the front of her sports jersey for all to see as she pedals speedily to finish lines across Europe and beyond.

With Zijlaard-Van Moorsel's popularity in Holland on a roll, Farm Frites has leveraged her celebrity as a spokesperson in television commercials. One lighthearted spot, in which she is paired in a fun-filled scene with a potato farmer, was aired during an eight-week period highlighted by ice skating competition coverage on TV. The campaign succeeded in boosting brand awareness among consumers. More advertising exposure followed, and today the Farm Frites name is spontaneously recognized by more than 60% of consumers in the Netherlands.

"Surveys have revealed that shoppers think they have been buying Farm Frites products in supermarkets for many years, which of course is not the case," said Den Boer. "Our advertising has successfully reinforced awareness of the brand, which has been building since the company began sponsoring cycling a decade ago."

One has to wonder what rivals in the value-added potato business, some of whom were dubious about Farm Frites' investment commitment to cycling sponsorship, are thinking now. It would appear that ongoing exposure among sports enthusiasts who faithfully line up where the rubber meets the road and on national TV has paid off by pre-positioning a winning image for the company in the minds of retail customers.

Providing consistent quality at an attractive price underpins the company's strategy to grow sales in supermarkets and grocery stores. But just as few battle plans survive the first field skirmish without need for adjustment, a major weapon in Farm Frites' arsenal was neutralized just before the first shots were fired.

When operational tactics for entering the market were drawn up, clear price differentiation within a multi-product setting was the norm in supermarkets, with leading operators typically offering two A brands, along with a store brand and one or two value labels. However, the rug was abruptly pulled from under this long-established way of doing business when Dutch retail leader Albert Heijn began slashing prices across the board in a counterattack against hard-discount chains nipping at its heels.

"Our initial plan was to come into the retail market at a middle price level," explained Den Boer. "The idea was to offer consumers a financial incentive to try our new listings. But after the A brand prices were cut, we wound up competing with them on the same level. As things turned out, this is quite OK with us."

In fact, this may have psychologically elevated the Farm Frites profile in the minds of consumers. It did just that among retail buyers, according to a survey conducted by Supermarkt, a Dutch trade journal. The magazine ranked the nine-item Farm Frites line among the top frozen food retail products entering the Dutch market during the first quarter of 2004. Others cited were Dr. Oetker Big Americans BBQ Chicken Pizza, Maitre Paul Roomboter Croissants, and Mona Schepijs.

"We are very pleased with the result, considering there were 263 food and non-food product introductions in the Netherlands that were considered," said Beckers. "Another business publication, which polled independent store managers and franchise operators about new products, gave the Farm Frites range a high mark of 7.1. We received a 'very good' rating from 96% of the retailers surveyed."

In week 32 Farm Frites extended its retail line with the introduction of four potato-based stir-fry ready meals featuring regional European recipe appeal, namely: Toscaans, Provencaals, Brabants and Greek.

The company has demographically designated family groups as its primary sales target, and has especially zeroed in on 10- to 15-year-old consumers--a segment which is believed to have heavy influence on buying decisions made by parents. Purchases have been further stimulated with premium offers of Fox Kids cards, which are promoted on a popular children's TV network as well as in the 20,000 circulation Kids Week newspaper issued every Friday morning.

On August 23 Farm Frites launched a five-week campaign appealing to "children of all ages" via a Suske and Wiske DVD offer. The popular comic book characters, who enjoy an almost cult-like following among several generations of people in the Benelux countries, have come alive on screen in recent years. And unlike the comic strip subjects, the film stars are seen eating french fries from time to time.

The latest episode in the Universal Pictures adventure series, entitled De Duistere Diamant (translation: The Shaded Diamond), can become the prized property of consumers of Farm Frites potato products who are lucky enough to get their hands on a winning number. Each of the company's retail packages and foodservice fry containers distributed during the promotion period come with an imprinted numerical code which can be keyed in at a specially set up website. One hour after doing so, the contestant is contacted by e-mail. Winners are told to expect delivery of the DVD by post within three weeks.

"We have found that our targeted consumer base likes to be interactive on the Internet," said Beckers. "Furthermore, this kind of promotion drives up sales without pushing down prices and margins. It is win-win-win for all parties--the consumer, retailer and manufacturer."