07 Jun Moving potatoes out of the commodity mode
A new partnership between distributors, RSA Market Agents, and leading potato grower, Wesgrow, will see new branded potato offerings brought to SA’s broader retail space.
RSA has entered into a strategic partnership with the Free State-based Wesgrow, formerly known as Wesvrystaat Aartappel Moerkwekers, which has a 52-year strong heritage in South Africa as the country’s leading seed potato producer, and currently represents up to 65% of all potato seed production in South Africa.
Its new Wesgrow brand harnesses this heritage and combines it with a fresh approach to potato marketing – one based on elevating the status of South African potatoes and providing tangible value for money through supplying excellent quality produce at market prices.
In line with this, Wesgrow will debut with five pack sizes: 1kg, 2kg, 4kg (new to market), 7kg and 10Kg.
Although all markets along the value chain are important to Wesgrow, its research shows as much as 70% of its business will come from the informal market sector via hawkers, spaza shops, and independent sellers. However, Wesgrow will actively service all LSM groups, including top-end buyers and consumers.
A strategic partnership
“Over the past 33 years, RSA has become a leader in its field, offering our customers and growers the marketing edge they need to add value to their businesses,” explains Jaco Oosthuizen, group MD of RSA Market Agents.
“We are constantly looking to partner with innovative growers who supply good quality products. Wesgrow’s progressive thinking to elevate potatoes from just a commodity in South Africa reflects our vision to maintain our leadership position within the fresh produce industry.”
Gerhard Posthumus, Wesgrow MD, echoes these sentiments. “RSA’s vision and values resonate with us, and as the largest market agent in South Africa, its country-wide footprint supports our own vision for national growth. Added to this, we share the same appetite when it comes to African business prospects, making this a strategically important and symbiotic relationship,” he says.
Wesgrow potatoes
Initially, Wesgrow potatoes will be available on the RSA market floor in Johannesburg, with a view to being rolled out to the Durban and Tshwane markets in the future.
Wesgrow is a farmer-owned company situated in the western Free State. It comprises of a group of 18 farmers growing 5,000 hectares of potatoes under irrigation in the Christiana area.
It sources its exclusive potato varieties from Hetema Zonen Potato Corporation (HZPC) in Holland and Irish Potato Marketing (IPM) in Ireland.
The company has a mini tuber greenhouse facility in the area where all Wesgrow mother seed is produced. Two of its most successful varieties in the past have been Mondial and Sifra, which now dominate the South African retail space.
It has contract growers around the country, which allows it to provide seed to farmers nationally, all year round. Wesgrow also operates a separate marketing company just outside Christiana with its own pre-packing facility.