Wanted: new solutions for healthier fries

Almost everyone loves a good serving of fries from time to time, whether it's at home or enjoying a meal out. Made from potatoes, it's wonderfully pure food with short chains. We've been eating fries for over 150 years, with an yearly average of 40-50 servings per person!

Aviko is one of the largest producers of fries worldwide. We are proud of the quality of the fries that we produce, but we always aim to go further. We want everyone to enjoy fries fully without limits, from a guilty pleasure to carefree joy at the table.

Therefore, we are looking for ways and ideas to make fries healthier! We consider this broadly, seeing opportunities throughout the entire chain: from the different sorts of potatoes planted in the fields through new frying methods to serving fries at the table.

If you have a possible (partial) solution, we would love to connect with you! 
 

About Us
Aviko is Europe's largest producer of potato products within the out-of-home segment and one of the top five global market leaders

Aviko processes 2 million tons of potatoes annually, spread across 13 production locations in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland, and China. With a portfolio of over 100 distinctive potato products, Aviko operates in more than 110 countries. The 2,500 colleagues at Aviko are driven by the great potential of our products and the impact they have on quality, service, innovation, and sustainability in our chain: 'from grower to table.'

Founded by 32 potato growers in 1962, Aviko has grown into a global player. Since 2002, Aviko has been part of Royal Cosun, a forward-looking and leading agricultural cooperative with around 11,000 growers.

What Are We Looking For?
We are looking for anything that can make our fries healthier. According to us, this can be achieved by means of three different ways:

• By preserving (better) healthy components
• By adding extra healthy components
• By reducing unhealthy components, or preventing them from being absorbed during digestion

Fries are made from potatoes. Luckily, potatoes are already packed with healthy ingredients! Think of fibers, vitamins (C & B6), carbohydrates, potassium, and other minerals and antioxidants. Unfortunately, we lose some of these healthy components during processing and preparation - both in our production line and in the kitchens of our end customers. And, of course, we could also add a little extra if customers are enthusiastic about it.

We produce about 15,000-25,000 kilos of fries per hour per production line. For this, we use about 30-50 tons of raw input (potato tubers). All solutions must have a realistic outlook for application on that scale/speed and volume.

Simply put, a potato becomes fries by peeling, cutting, and frying it. Additionally, some of our fries (before frying) receive a coating to become crispier, achieve a specific taste and texture, and stay tasty for a longer time. Frying happens twice: in our production line (pre-cooking) and in the kitchens of people at home or in the hospitality industry.

Fries are fries mostly due to the preparation method: frying. We are very open to and curious about methods of preparation that use less or no oil or fats. However, the distinctive taste and texture of fries must be preserved as much as possible! There are already alternatives, such as hot air and CO2 frying. However, they are not yet well-suited for the large scale in our production lines or not suitable for use in the kitchens of our end customers (hospitality and consumers).

The unhealthy components of fries:

• Frying, especially in oil, adds unhealthy components. We currently use (certified) sunflower and palm oil. Some of that oil also seeps into the fries, making them contain (saturated) fats.
• Heating starchy products like potatoes above 120°C can produce acrylamide, a chemical substance associated with an increased risk of cancer.
• And, of course, fries are often generously salted.

This all may sound intense, but of course, it's manageable with moderate and varied eating habits and well-prepared fries! By further reducing the health disadvantages with your help, or by adding health benefits, we want to make fries an increasingly healthier choice that you can enjoy without worry!

Above all, we are curious about what you come up with. We are open to many directions.

If you have a possible (partial) solution to make our fries healthier, we would love to receive your submission!

What Are We Not Looking For?

• Solutions that focus on reducing the number of carbohydrates (we are not looking for 'less potato per fry').
• We are not looking for anything 'around the fries'. This includes sauces, dishes, etc.
• All solution directions where 'fries are no longer recognizable as fries' for the consumer.
• Solutions that (ultimately) cannot be applied on a large production scale.

What We Offer

• Chance to receive an assignment of €30,000-€100,000 to realize and test a prototype/pilot.
• Chance to have a test environment.
• Chance for a follow-up assignment, scaling up, or sustainable collaboration after a successful pilot.
• In addition, you can expect support and collaboration from inspiring specialists who can challenge you to make your product even better.

Evaluation Criteria

• Impact on the health of fries
• Appeal of fries to the customer
• Feasibility
  • Technical/practical in end/customer kitchen
  • Scale, volume/speed
  • Costs (applicable on a large scale)
• Integration into production lines
• Team/expertise

Participation Requirements

• Registered with the Chamber of Commerce (KvK).
• The solution complies with all applicable food laws and regulations.
• Capable of starting a pilot project/proof-of-concept within 6 months.
• Participation is open to startups, scale-ups, SMEs, mature companies, innovators, and scientists with an innovative product and/or technology.

Your Submission (max 6 pages / 18 slides)

• Description of the solution: 
  Provide the most concrete description possible of your solution.
• Description of the pilot: 
  Provide a brief description of what is needed to develop and/or set up a pilot for your solution and what you need from us. Address the support needs, necessary access/materials/data, and the financial proposal for the pilot and, if successful, for the long term.
• Team description: 
  Provide a brief description of the company and team that will implement the pilot.

The submission can be made in any format (presentation/slide deck, letter form) but must be uploaded as a PDF file (landscape or portrait A4, max. 30MB). Videos, sample websites, etc., can be included as links within it.
Submissions in English are allowed.

Intellectual Property

• You remain the owner of the intellectual rights, concept, or solution in your submission until we, by mutual agreement, decide otherwise.
• Be aware that the submission (and the concepts and ideas in it) will be viewed and shared with (internal) stakeholders. Keep IP-sensitive unique (technical) details out of the submission, save it as a secret that can be shared later.

Timeline

• Wednesday, February 21: Launch of the challenge
• Monday, April 22, 17:00 (CET): Challenge deadline
• By Friday, May 10: Announcement of the first selection
• Thursday, May 23: Live presentations/conversations with the selected parties
• June/July: Collaboration shaping with the selected party
• Q3 2024: Start pilot/test Proof of Concept

Want to know more about Aviko? Visit aviko.nl and corporate.aviko.com