Category: Recycling
From magazine No. 4 2015
Today it is becoming increasingly clear that the growth of the potato industry is impossible without the development of processing. But there are still very few actually operating, entirely Russian enterprises in this area on the market. The general economic instability in the country, difficulties with lending and many other pitfalls that always come across the path of someone who follows an off-the-beaten path are hampers. To decide on your project, it is very important to see a successful example before your eyes.
We invite you to get acquainted with the experience of the Moscow region enterprise ZAO Ozery. In 2014, a line for the production of natural potato chips was opened here. What difficulties we had to face and what we managed to achieve - in the story of General Director Sergei Pryamov.
A necessary step, but forced
JSC "Ozery" is an enterprise specializing in the production of vegetables and potatoes. On 1300 hectares, we annually grow about 50 thousand tons of products. We have the necessary capacity for washing, cleaning, packaging and long-term storage of the product. We supply potatoes and vegetables to retail chains in constant volumes all year round, participate in city programs, are noted by the authorities and are well known in the industry. But every year dozens of new projects enter the market, and production profitability is falling. Analyzing this situation, we thought about recycling. We can say that the launch of chip production was an important step necessary for the future. But forced: if it were possible to make money only by producing vegetables, we would not do it.
Processing starts with seeds
The history that preceded the opening of chip production was very unpleasant for our enterprise. But there is no point in hiding it; not a single manufacturer who grows potatoes and purchases seeds from third-party companies, even very well-known and titled ones, is immune from this. Four years ago, a latent form of Ralstonia solanacearum was discovered in a batch of our seed potatoes grown from imported material. Suspicion aroused a wave of checks. Dozens of samples were taken in and around the fields: not only of products, but also of water, soil, and plants that could serve as sources of quarantine objects. About 200 specialists from various services visited the farm, and we received more than 180 reports. If we had decided to conduct such a large-scale study ourselves, we simply would not have had enough funds. But ZAO Ozyory has become the most inspected zone in Russia at public expense. As a result, the presence of a quarantine object was not confirmed, but the rumor was enough that most of what was grown had to be liquidated. That year we revised a lot in our work. The main conclusion we made: “You can’t rely on other people’s seeds, you need to grow your own.” We are thinking about creating our own seed laboratory. When choosing varieties, we relied on those that were resistant to virus Y and were suitable for processing.
Now we are the originators of five varieties (two free imported, three domestic). We are preparing two more for registration.
We grow potato chips from our own seeds and do not incur royalty costs, which means we have cheap raw materials for processing. This is the basis without which you should not start the project. Thanks to this, we produce an affordable product: the retail price of a small package of Barin chips (40 g) is comparable to the price of half a loaf of bread; such chips can be purchased without compromising the budget even by pensioners, who, by the way, make up a considerable share of our customers.
Entering the market
With the rise in the value of the currency in our country, a redistribution of the snack market began: a lot of salted and dried seafood, which became too expensive for most consumers, disappeared, and pistachios disappeared for the same reason. But a niche has appeared for a local product with an affordable price. I believe that each region should have its own brands. In Europe, in small towns, you will definitely be proudly offered local sausage, cheese, yoghurt, wine, something else, and this is always valued more than the goods imposed by corporations. And this will come to us too. This is more convenient for both producers and consumers. We see for whom we work, whose passions we focus on. And people are more pleased to buy products that have grown in the surrounding fields and are processed at a local enterprise, taking into account the tastes of the region.
It is very difficult to get on the shelves of large hypermarkets. Almost all retail chains belong to foreign companies; they have no interest in our product. It is difficult for us to compete with foreign offers, supported by massive advertising on television, but to follow the same path means increasing the cost of the product.
For now, Barin chips are easier to find outside the capital. They are represented in more than 180 stores in Russia, in regional networks.
Our products are also supplied to neighboring countries: to Kazakhstan, for example. The potato processing industry there is not developed at all; there are no local processors.
Seasonality
Chips are a product that requires “hands free”. Accordingly, in Russia they are in high demand from late April to early September. In the south of the country it takes a little longer (It would be interesting to open production there, but in the Krasnodar Territory it is much more promising to grow other crops, and ensuring constant delivery of chip potatoes of stable quality from other regions is very difficult).
This fact must be taken into account when organizing production. During the season we produce more products. In our case, working “in a warehouse” is unprofitable, since storing fresh potatoes costs us less.
Some producers operate at 20 percent load in winter. You must understand that in this case you have to drain the oil (the approximate volume of losses is a truck tank if the line is large). At our enterprise, the drained oil is used in other production (we purchased boilers that run on this type of fuel and use them for heating).
Growing and storing raw materials
Potatoes for the production of chips are subject to strict quality requirements, so they are grown only under irrigation. In this case, irrigation systems are used not only to supply water, but also to apply fertilizers. We have problems with the latter: for example, not all necessary fertilizers have a chelate form, or not all types of equipment are adapted to work with chemicals (pipes oxidize). But the main difficulty, in my opinion, is that we water irregularly, and in the amount we can, and not in the amount the plant needs. To a greater extent, this situation is not due to a lack of water resources, but to the influence of the human factor. Sometimes you have to explain that if it rains, this is not a reason to turn off the water in the fields. On the contrary, when the top layer of soil is moist, watering is more effective.
One more fundamental point. Potatoes intended for the production of chips contain a high percentage of dry matter, and require careful cleaning and storage technology, since under stress, carbohydrates can turn into sugars, which makes the product unsuitable for processing. Therefore, when harvesting, we use self-propelled harvesters that minimize injury to tubers, and when storing potatoes, we always treat them with growth inhibitors.
Production Technologies
There are several technologies for producing chips in the world that have significant differences. In some of them, for example, there is a blanching stage (short-term heating of potato petals to 80-90°), which changes the cellular structure of the product, which makes processing easier, but the natural taste and color of the potato is lost. The temperature and roasting time, the pressure level in the oven, etc. are also important.
Each manufacturer has its own frying chart, which is a trade secret. Diagrams of large manufacturers, as a rule, are protected by patents, which makes the work of novice chip makers very difficult. Chip corporations often work on equipment produced to their order, and the manufacturer of the equipment under the contract does not have the right to sell the same model of oven or fryer to someone else.
Equipment
When choosing equipment, we were based on the same principles that we rely on in other areas of work. Firstly, we did not chase brands. If you look at the equipment that we use in the fields or in terminals, you will see the entire spectrum of colors, because we are not tied to one manufacturer, but try to take the most effective from each. Here too, we chose the most modern and professionally recognized machines: a potato peeling line, a cutting line, a deep fryer with a multifloor system. We purchased installations that create a gas-modified environment in the packaging, which increases the shelf life of the product.
Our engineers made efforts to ensure that all equipment worked together.
At the same time, we did not spend extra money. For example, we didn’t buy an automated packaging line. Packers can cope quite well with the volume that is present now. According to my observations, many projects in Russia are ruined by overinvestment: people invest more money in equipment, machinery, and the construction of warehouses than they can actually return later.
The third aspect is duplication. In our country, service is very poorly developed; if something breaks, you can wait weeks for spare parts, but we are bound by contracts and cannot afford downtime. Therefore, all key machines have replacements.
Oil
Another advantageous difference between our product and foreign ones. Vegetable oil, which many well-known manufacturers use, is too expensive for us at the current exchange rate, but the country produces an abundance of sunflower oil. We have several trusted suppliers who supply us with oil from the south of Russia; we do the blending ourselves.
Personnel
A sore point for any direction, especially for a new one. We try to find passionate specialists and spare no expense on training: we take them abroad.
We try to attract the local population to work professions (residents of the Lakes have preferences), I believe that this is our responsibility. Any organization of work gives a social impetus. So if the development of a new direction leads to the creation of new jobs, it is worth pursuing.
Profitability
We earn the lion's share of our money from the production and sale of vegetables. The chip line is currently not running at full capacity; turning it into a source of constant profit is a serious task, complicated by many circumstances. In our country, for example, a vegetable producer pays VAT at a preferential rate of 10%, and if he processes his goods, the rate will be 18%.
Not every day is a holiday
I won’t lie, despite the fact that our chips are made from natural potatoes, I won’t recommend eating five packs of them every day. This is a festival product. But rumors about the dangers of chips are somewhat exaggerated. Acrylamides, which often scare lovers of crispy potatoes, are actually found in all products that contain carbohydrates: bread, bagels, cookies...
I can say about our products that they have the correct composition and do not contain any addictive additives. We offer an optimal balance between energy value, carbohydrates that a person receives, and the volume of the pack.
About the title
We produce potato chips from the Barin variety, and the product itself has the same name. We did not put any additional ideology into the name of our brand. Now I regret it a little. It would have been more correct to connect the name with real people, real production, fields - what really works. The original “working” title was “Straight from the Garden,” but the association turned out to be too direct.
Now we are planning to expand the line and release colored chips from purple and red potatoes (made from new varieties that have antioxidant properties). Most likely, they will be released under a different brand.
If it already exists, why not with a “Russian face”?
I am confident that in the future the fast food segment will develop, and very actively. Remember: 100 years ago, people spent an average of four hours preparing dinner. In the 60s of the last century, with the invention of gas stoves and pressure cookers, it was already an hour and a half. Then microwave ovens appeared and semi-finished products became fashionable. The rhythm of life is accelerating. The demand for fast food products is growing, and it would be more correct if the need is met primarily with Russian-made products.
I’m talking now not so much about chips, but about new processed products (peeled vegetables in thermal bags; heat-treated vegetables; preserves prepared using the cooking technology), the potential of which on the market is enormous. But the enterprises producing all this, those very kitchen factories, should not be located far away, not in Poland and Holland, but literally in every city of ours, they should be visible outside the window. This way we will provide people with high-quality affordable food and get good opportunities for business development. This is an important task that needs to be solved today.