HAK´s new factory with a fully automatic and high-quality standing pouch line became operational in late 2018. The canned vegetables manufacturer, which is an NPM Capital portfolio company, introduced beans in standing pouches that were filled externally in late 2015. The company can now scale up to larger volumes and numerous product-market combinations thanks to the new line in Giessen, the Netherlands, which produces standing pouches for the entire product gamut ranging from one-person portions to solutions for large-scale professional use.
The official opening of this line marks a key turning point for HAK on the strategic course it has been following since 2012 based on the mission of: helping people eat more vegetables and legumes. By offering vegetables in jars, standing pouches and supermarket refrigerated sections, HAK can now provide products that are suitable for every type of consumer anytime and anyplace.
HAK has until now had the beans and bean dishes filled in the standing pouches by an external supplier. The introduction of the new fully automatic line gives HAK cost and efficiency advantages and enables it to optimally safeguard quality and control food safety. It also provides it with greater flexibility in terms of the diversity of its products. HAK currently produces more than 95% of its products.
The beans in standing pouches have within a short period of time become hugely popular among a primarily young target group (20-35) and modern diners. HAK has sold more than 12 million standing pouches, representing revenue of around €15 million, since their introduction in 2015. The HAK standing pouches have now also been successfully introduced in Belgium and Germany.
Also read ‘HAK aims to get the Dutch eating more vegetables by introducing eleven new standing pouches’
