Prime Planet is on course to change the face of healthier-for-you snacking across the world

With its growing line of unique and delicious Tostones, Prime Planet is determined to build the best possible relationships with customers by providing value and quality – while making great inroads to the mainstream American snack market.

 

Promoted as a “better for you” product, Prime Planet  is a natural snack brand made from fresh green plantains sourced from Ecuador, hand-crafted, and packaged there on the spot following strict production protocols. What results is a fresh and flavorful plantain chip that’s packed with all-natural ingredients – and an irresistible crunch.

 

“We took our time to find the best possible quality ingredients because anything else simply wouldn’t do,” says Marie Gonzalez, with Prime Planet Business Development.

 

Prime Planet Tostones come in a range of flavors, from Lime and Sweet Chile to Habanero and the Original salted variety.

 

The History of a Chip

Initially operating under the heading of Prime Fresh Products, Prime Planet launched in 2016 – and almost immediately set a trajectory toward success. After testing the waters with its initial line of Tostones in the Miami/South Florida market, and recognizing that the popularity of this new snack was taking off, by 2018 the time was right to further grow this fledgling division.

 

One of the first steps was to introduce a new slogan, “A Natural World of Flavor.” This creative tag line was conceived to drive home the point that by using simple yet innovative ingredients, snacking can be incorporated in a balanced diet while delivering to consumers the tastiest flavors on the planet.

 

Concurrently, in response to consumer testing and other key market factors, Prime Planet rolled out a new and improved version of the original thicker chip. Now lighter and crispier than ever, the reengineering of the product made them taste even better.

 

Says Gonzalez, “We are the pioneers of converting green plantains into all natural and ready-to-eat chips, and so perfecting the formula for production and widespread distribution was key. Essentially, we took a good chip and made it a whole lot better. In fact, when compared with the original chip, existing customers overwhelmingly loved the newer product.”

 

Prime Planet Tostones were also made easier to spot on grocer shelves. As a result of meeting certain standards that allowed the product to be re-designated a “mainstream snack,” Prime Planet made the critical move from the ethic section of stores to the official snack aisle.

 

 

The Prime Planet Difference 

Prime Planet continued its mission to strike a difference between other traditional banana chips or plantain chips on the market. By 2019, the manufacturer doubled down on the growing demand for their significantly better-tasting, better-textured chip, by aggressively touting the product’s multiple health benefits.

 

Turns out, nearly 50 percent of U.S. consumers say that natural ingredients and non-added sugar are the top reasons for adding snack items to their shopping baskets. So, not only do consumers get to enjoy a top-selling all-natural snack product with no added sugars or preservatives, they are also comforted to know Prime Planet’s unique plantain chips are also certified low sodium, NON GMO, GF, BASC, and RSPO palm oil.

 

What better way to call out these essential qualities than to prominently position the insignia for each across the front of every bag. And a packaging redesign in 2019 did just that, allowing health-conscious consumers to quickly spot the healthier snack benefits they desire.

 

Reaching for Regional Growth

As one of Prime Planet’s earliest retail distributors, Publix Supermarkets now features the highly popular chip brand in more than 900 grocery store locations across Florida and five other states in the Southeastern U.S.

 

“Additionally, we’ve been growing distribution and marketing of our product via Central Market in Texas, Safeway stores in Northern California, Burlington Stores in the Northeast U.S., and multiple other independent grocers,” says Gonzalez, noting that Prime Planet also is now the preferred Tostones snack brand in Puerto Rico and The Bahamas.

 

“During 2020 and 2021, our focus also included expanding our presence in e-commerce market through alliances with Amazon, Kroger Marketplace, Walmart Marketplace, and other online services. Tostones are also available from the Prime Planet online store.

 

Looking Ahead

Going forward, Prime Planet as a brand will continue to pursue opportunities to grow partnerships with many of the biggest names in retail food distribution, in order to make its outstanding product available in multiple new markets nationwide.

 

The company is also busy developing new and natural snack products and flavors – ensuring that Prime Planet stays ahead of the wave in the ever-changing and highly complex U.S. snack food market.

 

Prime Planet Roots

Based Prime Planet is the youngest entity among Miami-based Prime Group. As an innovative international food company, Prim Planet’s corporate mission is simply to bring delicious, nutritious, and healthier products to people’s lives.

 

Prime Planet’s roots stem from the formation of its parent company that was founded in 2001, managing the export of fresh-cut flowers from Ecuador to the U.S. Over two decades, the company has grown to become on of the most trusted suppliers of perishables and other retail and wholesale foods, while at the same time establishing its high standards of customer service and quality products all across North and South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

 

Knowledge, expertise, and direct access to leading global logistics and retail/wholesale food distributors are the prime benefits of being affiliated with its sister companies under the Prime Group umbrella, whereby allowing Prime Planet to find the shortest and most efficient commercial routes for ideal product placement.

 

Other successful Prime Group companies include Prime Fresh Handling, PrimeAir, and Prime Logistics.

 

Contact Us

Prime Planet is located at 1301 NW 84th Ave. Suite 127, Miami, FL 33126 USA. For information, visit www.primeplanet.net; or contact Marie Gonzales with Prime Planet Business Development at 305-592-2044; or via email at bdm@primefreshproducts.com.

 

Nurturing Community Spirit is a Prime Quality

Having a heart – by “giving back” to the local community, diving into volunteerism, or working directly with charitable organizations – is a positive way to show employees and customers that what’s important in business is more than just dollars and cents.

As Helen Keller said, “Alone, we can do so little, together, we can do so much.”

At Prime Group, we strongly believe that any company – big or small – with a sense of social responsibility and a volunteerism-friendly culture for their employees can truly make a difference. That’s why we strongly encourage all businesses to improve the quality of life in their communities through local projects and volunteerism.

It Takes a Planet

“Over the holidays, most of us had the blessings of food on the table and a home from which our families celebrated,” Marie Gonzalez, manager of Prime Planet Business Development. “But at the same time, so many others were not so fortunate.”

To help, Prime Group provided a Prime Planet Donation for the Miami Global Colombian Lions Club project to feed homeless residents.

“Our employees took to the streets of Miami and provided goodie bags with a sandwich, beverage, and snacks that homeless residents could later enjoy,” Gonzalez notes. “It was a small, but meaningful food donation. Not only was it the right thing to do, but it helped these less fortunate people know that we care.”

On the Frontline for Kids

Individual employees who pick a personal passion for their community service also can enrich their own personal lives, which often makes for a happier employee in general, as well. For example, in the past, Igor Vilas Boas, operations manager at Prime Logistics and his wife Diana have volunteered their time on weekends at His House Children’s Home of North Miami, a frontline provider of residential and foster-care services dedicated to restoring the lives of children.

In addition to helping the kids and teens, the couple soon discovered that volunteering was a great way to disconnect from work after a busy day and foster a good work-life balance. Studies show that the act of giving to others can help employees enhance both mental and physical health.

More Than Just Chipping In

For example, over the past several months, Prime Group’s global headquarters in Miami, served as the local arrival point for Girl Scout Cookies in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. More than 60,000 boxes of cookies were warehoused at Prime Group’s Doral warehouse facility, and our company partnered with the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida for the launch of the 2021 cookie season.

Over several weeks, employees worked side by side with the Girl Scouts to prepare for the launch of the cookie distribution phase of the program from the warehouse.

“It was so much more than just another successful logistics operation,” says Edgar Campana, general manager-Prime Logistics. “It was also our way of being a good corporate citizen and helping to foster the development of future female leaders.” He also points out that volunteering and working on community projects can benefit business too.

According to a recent global study on corporate social responsibility, 93 percent of consumers polled by Cone Communications said they’d have a more positive image of a company that’s socially responsible. Ninety percent of those surveyed also said they’d be more likely to trust that company, while 88 percent would be “more loyal” and continue using that firm’s products or services.

We’ve discovered that when we support our local communities, our business has higher local visibility, more robust networking opportunities, a team-focused sense of accomplishment among our employees, and an enhanced business reputation.

Prime Group encourages all companies to pick their passion – by finding projects that can make their community a better place to live and work. It can change lives.

So why not set up a volunteer action plan within your company? Encourage employees to pick a charity or community project and volunteer. As a business, look for corporate projects that improve the lives of local residents, and in some cases, even save lives.

As the 19th century playwright and theater director Henrik Ibsen said: “Community is like a ship. Everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.”

Prime Planet Tostones are an odds-on favorite at Vegas snack show

Prime Fresh Products is taking its new and improved Prime Planet Tostones on the road – most recently to the ECRM Snack Food Show in Las Vegas, where it quickly became a big winner.

U.S.-based Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing Company, or ECRM for short, brings efficiencies to the buying and selling process by optimizing product assortments and enhancing supplier-buyer collaboration.The show at Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, Feb. 19 – 21, focused on presenting new snack items and promotional opportunities to buyers from across all retail channels.

It was here that Prime Planet, the tropical better-for-you snack line of Prime Fresh Products, had an opportunity to meet with big buyers such as CVS, Walgreens, BJ’S, 7-Eleven, Kmart, Burlington’s, and many others.

It was also here that the company’s crunchy green plantain chips became, in the parlance of the Las Vegas scene, an odds-on favorite.

According to Marcia Tipiana, Operations Coordinator for Doral-based Prime Fresh Products, the three-day conference netted meetings with more than 50 retailers.

“We made sure that those in attendance walked away with all the information they needed to make sound decisions on our product line. And in the case of Prime Planet Tostones, this strategy worked.”

 

Behind the Scenes

In the months leading up to this show, consumer response to Prime Planet Tostones at grocery stores in South Florida had gotten so strong that it became clear the time had come to expand product reach nationwide, beyond just the Latino market.

“But to do so, we had to change our packaging in a way that it would look more mainstream American. We also tinkered with the recipe by reducing sodium and making it more nutritious,” said Tipiana.

They also invested in the process of obtaining a wide range of special certifications in order to market the chips as Kosher, cooked in better oils, gluten free, and non-GMO.

With those exciting new changes in place it was time to head West, to talk with directly with national U.S. buyers in Las Vegas – and to realize they had a big winner on their hands.

“When it came down to it, buyers tended to like our chips more than other similar snacks at the show because they are heartier and more crunchy than standard plantain chips. Everyone was impressed,” she added.

 

Change is Good  

The strategic planning meeting with Prime Planet’s existing Publix rep during the show was especially promising. Up to this point, they were marketing and positioning Prime Planet Tostones solely in their stores’ ethnic food sections.

“But as soon as Publix recognized we changed the packaging and other key aspects of the product, they saw a clear and present need to move our Tostones into to the main snack aisle.”

This shift, she says, opens the door to a bigger base of Publix customers and distribution across their entire system, not just in Latino-centric South Florida markets.

More stores and higher visibility means increased volume. Change is good!

For sales and distribution to succeed elsewhere across the country, particularly in the Northern U.S. markets, the challenge will be to market the chips in a way to get consumers to try something they’ve never even heard of.

“But, we have found that once a new consumer digs into a bag of our Tostones, they absolutely love them,” she said. A marketing and advertising plan is now in the works to broaden the appeal of Prime Planet snacks across the board.

Another recent change with the product is the launch of new flavors. Today, the line includes the Original chip, Lime, Habanero, Yuca, Pinton, and Sweet Chili.

 

Prime Planet’s launch

Prime Fresh Products launched its better-for-you Tostones in 2019, to meet the growing trend among nutrition-conscious consumers who want to lead a wellness-oriented lifestyle.

“We are number one in quality and taste because our Tostones are processed naturally under the highest quality standards – and because they’re a delicious alternative to other typical snack chips”

Operations Coordinator Marcia Tipiana may be reached at 786-956-0080 or via opscoordinator@primefreshproducts.com. For general information, visit www.primeplanet.net