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An interview with our frozen food expert

“The secret is order” -

Willem Klein Zeggelink

Willem Klein Zegge­link, Custo­mer Direc­tor Busi­ness & Cate­gory Deve­lo­p­ment CPG at POS TUNING

  • The motto of the DTI Frozen Food Confe­rence in 2022 was “Moving towards a more sustainable future”.

    What chal­lenges does this motto pose for the indus­try?

Sustaina­bi­lity is the topic of the indus­try. All food manu­fac­tu­r­ers are concer­ned with this topic and want to make their contri­bu­tion in the future. In order to achieve the global climate targets (max. 1.5° global warm­ing), a rethink regar­ding food must take place. Factory farming and meat consump­tion need to be put to the test. The DTI supports members with the initia­tive “Frozen food indus­try on the way to climate neutra­lity”.

 

  • What does this mean for the presen­ta­tion of frozen products?

With the help of better visi­bi­lity through more order and over­view, the dura­tion of door opening times at the frozen food cabi­net can be redu­ced. Thus, less cold gets outside and energy loss is redu­ced. With the help of our solu­ti­ons, products can always be presen­ted at the front. Shop­pers thus find their product more quickly and the time spent at the cooler is shor­tened. This is a simple step that can be taken to advance sustaina­bi­lity in the frozen food indus­try.

 

  • A few years ago, many retail­ers repla­ced their free­zers chests with cabi­nets. Now we see that this trend is being rever­sed in parts, or at least that the focus is on a two-track solu­tion. Is the free­zer not a write-off after all?

The chest still has its justi­fi­ca­tion. The frozen food cabi­net remains a trend because the turno­ver per square meter is higher and the presen­ta­tion of the products is more appe­al­ing. But the chest can also be used attrac­tively. Espe­ci­ally in the field of bagged goods, the chest clearly makes more sense. French fries or vege­ta­bles are the clas­sics for lying place­ment. Lift or orga­ni­zer systems can prevent the chest from beco­ming a rummage table. Brand commu­ni­ca­tion is also possi­ble. Custom bran­ding allows any message to be placed in chests as well. And shop­pers don’t have to look far to find their products.

 

  • What product trends are making them­sel­ves felt in the frozen food indus­try?

Here, there is clearly a trend towards more meat substi­tu­tes. Many major manu­fac­tu­r­ers are turning to plant-based alter­na­ti­ves for fish or meat. The choice is getting bigger and the space requi­re­ment is incre­asing as well.

 

It’s getting tight in the frozen food cupboard?

Yes and no. The secret is order. There are the right presen­ta­tion solu­ti­ons for all types of pack­a­ging. Products can also be placed on top of each other, which even saves space. It is also important here to install the appro­priate brand messa­ges on the shelf or cooler. Be it small flags atta­ched to the shel­ves. Or direct commu­ni­ca­tion with shop­pers through messa­ges played at the front. The vari­ants are many. We offer our custo­mers goal-orien­ted consul­ting services for this purpose.