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Hi Rainer Re potatoes, you may firstly like to visit our new site - http://www.potato.ie/. On it you'll find information on 'Fruit Logistica' in Berlin where a colleague posted details of possible opportunities for the 'Rooster' potato. The 'Rooster' potato is Ireland's most popular potato variety which was successfully sold throughout Russia, the Ukraine and Eastern Europe in the 2010-11 season. These potatoes found high consumer acceptability and further details can be found on http://roosterireland.com/en/intro. Re selling potatoes in Germany, we believe there has been a high yielding domestic harvest of potatoes in Germany in the current season, but 'Rooster' is a unique Irish potato and if marketed correctly it could command a premium in Germany, similar to market demand it has recently established in the UK. Visit the 'international trade section' (under the 'more info' tab) of the www.potato.ie site for further information. I hope this helps!

Hi Ron, Some great tips there! I would really emphasis the importance of knowing your consumer. Products need to be market driven meeting a specific consumer need(s). Bord Bia has recently published research in this area which is available online and free of charge - http://www.bordbiaperiscope.ie/ - a biennial study that tracks the Irish, British and Northern Irish consumers. It provides a detailed perspective on how consumers view food related issues and report their behaviours. Topline findings include: - Increasing our tendency to cook from scratch - Placing more emphasis on spending time together at certain meal occasions and on specific days of the week - Embracing "time spent cooking" - Referring to recipes to build our cooking repertoire - Increasing our commitment in the purchase of "local" food www.bordbia.ie/consumerlifestyletrends. The Consumer Lifestyle Trends have been designed to help you think about the opportunities for your business. We have identified 6 trends: 1. Fluid Lives 2. Making the Most of Life 3. Sustainable Lives 4. Quest for Health & Wellness 5. Consumers in Control 6. Keeping it Real Each of the trends are regularly updated and posted on the link above.