You don’t just become a global market leader in breeding and seed potatoes overnight. You have to constantly look to the future and anticipate and capitalise on new developments. Together with our partners in the chain, we look at the challenges facing us across the world. This may include climate change, the expansion of the world's population, and changing diets. Challenges that demand new varieties and products. And we develop these together.

Innovation is an integral part of our activities. The world is changing increasingly quickly and that requires quicker breeding of varieties. This is now possible thanks to the development of new technologies. And we never hesitate to seize the moment and take the initiative. We genuinely believe in developments such as hybrid breeding and . Innovations that are hugely important for supplying food to a growing global population.

But at HZPC, innovation doesn’t stop at breeding and the sales of potatoes. We work with our chain partners to develop new product packs and user options for new markets, markets which distinguish themselves on the basis of flavour, health, variation, fun and convenience. The potato, of course, is at the heart of all this, along with the inventiveness, curiosity, and determination of our employees and partners. After all, innovation can come from a range of sources. So together, we can develop the very best concepts and products.

Woksi is precisely that type of product. This new potato product has been developed by HZPC and Kiremko and capitalises on the needs of the modern consumer who is seeking convenience, fun and variation while also wanting to eat tasty, healthy food. The product ‘potato spaghetti’ is easy to process and suitable for the wok and salads. We introduced this new product in autumn 2019 in Finland. Since the launch, with the product in one supermarket, the product has now expanded into other supermarkets and a campaign in the food service channel is planned.

For many years, combining fries and healthy eating has simply not been an option. Innovative varieties and preparation techniques, however, have changed this considerably. In the project Fries4All, we worked with two partners on a product with lower levels of carbohydrates, fat and calories. The brand Leon&León was developed as a result, offering home preparation in air-fryers and in fan ovens in the professional kitchen and food service sector. The combination of variety breeding, a coating on the fries, and a new preparation method, has led to healthy fries with 30% lower calorific content, 30% reduced carbohydrate, and 30% lower fat. The brand has been available in Albert Heijn supermarkets since autumn 2019.

Fast-food is firmly embedded into the North American diet. But you can do so much more than make fries with potatoes. That is why we began a campaign in North America which involved explaining the many options offered by the potato to restaurant chefs and regular consumers. After all, ‘what the mind doesn’t know, the heart doesn’t cherish’ and we wanted to make a change.

The campaign ‘Potato Wonder Foodservice’ comprises a comprehensive website which provides information for the professional chef and ordinary consumers. We aim to change the potato’s ‘bulk’ perception and focus on differentiation. We are therefore concentrating on health, taste and experience. In order to establish what American consumers believe to be a tasty potato, and why, we conducted a broad consumer survey in spring 2020, involving a total of 1,200 consumers in four large cities (Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston). On the basis of this survey, we are working with our partners in the chain to create a marketing strategy that targets the younger generation.

Innovation always begins in the market. What innovations are there across the world, what does the consumer in a specific market segment want, and how can we anticipate and capitalise on this in the chain? These questions are central to all we do. And we never lose sight of our biggest driving force: feeding the world.  Sufficient quantities, good quality, and healthy food for all.