Belana and Regina take the same route. The Dutch Losser can be reached by car and truck drivers via the A 31 heading north, only to eventually turn west towards the Netherlands. Behind the still German Gronau, a narrow road leads through the meadows and fields of Twente parallel to the Dinkel river. A truck with 25 tons of Belana and Regina potatoes comes along four times a week to deliver them to Homann’s plant. Makes 4800 tons a year. An employee checks them before they slowly roll onto a conveyor belt that ends in one of the five storage bunkers. An hour later, the potatoes leave the factory in the direction of the A 31 as potato salad.
It also takes an hour to make your own potato salad at home. Clean the skin a little while the water is getting hot, then boil the potatoes, then let them cool, peel off the skin and cut into slices. Add chopped boiled eggs, pickles, and onions according to preference, then toss to combine with mayonnaise, previously made with egg yolks, oil, salt, pepper, and maybe some mustard and lemon juice. Ultimately, Homann does nothing else, just faster and more. On the four-lane packaging line of the market leader for branded potato salads, 160 cups per minute are filled in the Dutch plant. Every working day around the clock.