Stef talks about sustainable packaging

Personal details

Name: Stef Baetings
Age: 26
Company: Prominent/DOOR Partners
Since: 2017

You work as a product marketer at Prominent. What does your job entail?

I'm involved in all the marketing activities needed to create the right product/market combination. This includes for example conducting market research, analysing the performance of our tomatoes, and always looking for ways to improve our packages. It's all aimed at helping to support the sales team.

What's the most important trend in packaging fresh produce?

It should come as no surprise that sustainability is an important issue right now. Due to so much media attention, plastic packaging has come under fire, and we're being bombarded with terms like 'biodegradable', 'recyclable' and 'biobased'. By definition, plastic should be worse than other options such as cardboard. Science nuances this picture but explaining these findings to consumers isn't easy. As a result, the demand for cardboard packaging is skyrocketing. The retail sector is responding to purchasing behaviour even though doing so is not always the best choice for the environment.

What kind of effect does this situation have on the market?

I'm seeing a lot of questions arising. Our customers are asking about the sustainable packaging of tomatoes. When can I actually claim that my packaging is sustainable? And which packages are both sustainable and commercially attractive?

How can you give them some answers?

By conducting thorough research and maintaining an objective approach, we are answering all kinds of questions about sustainability. We provide personalised advice and offer alternatives so that customers ultimately know what steps they need to take to decide on a sustainable packaging. It makes for a nice challenge!

A list of the types of packaging we use for each of our product segments is available at https://www.prominent-tomatoes.nl/en/de-tomaat/assortiment/