Biosanica Ltd from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern produces around 800 tons of organic dried apples annually. "Our company is one of the largest suppliers of organic dried apples within the individual associations in Germany, whether it is Bioland, Naturland or Demeter in Germany. The demand in the trade is very high. Apple chips from Germany have also gained in importance as an association product," Jörg Moser, managing director of Biosanica Ltd, tells us.
Anna Schuster and Jörg Moser at Biofach 2022
Apples from the Alte Land and Poland
The main sourcing area for the apples is the Alte Land. "Here we have gained excellent partners over the last few years. We have now also been active in Poland for four years and have professionalized our purchasing in various regions. Our advantage is also that we can analyze everything precisely. Since we concentrate the residues by a factor of ten during drying, we are an important and reliable partner as a raw material supplier for the industry, for example for mush or juice producers." Apart from the Alte Land, products are also sourced through an EU organic certified subsidiary "Biosanica Sp. z.o.o." in Poland.
Apples are 
offered through four marketing lines: as fresh Class I dessert fruit, as well as musa apple, juice apple and peeling apple. "From the latter, we in turn produce our dried products, which basically utilizes the apple in its entirety." The main customers are companies in the processing food industry, mainly cereal manufacturers, but also the bakery industry, etc. Although Biosanica's main market is in Germany and Europe, its products also sell in Asia and especially in the United States.
Right: Plant in Süderholz. Photo: Biosanica Ltd
Many different varieties are used in the production of dried apples, although some, such as Golden Delicious, which are sweeter varieties or those whose shape is more oval, are difficult to process and are therefore not used, he said. "In terms of taste, we use sweet and sour varieties such as Jonagold, Braeburn, Topaz or, of course, the Elstar from Germany."
With LENA (live naturally), Biosanica created a brand with which the company wants to appeal primarily to retailers. "This brand is about specialized products, so primarily apple chips and apple powder, which we offer as a sweetener or sugar alternative," Moser explains.
Top seller: 10x10mm apple cubes
"Most of the products go to packaging companies, which in turn supply drugstore and natural food retailers such as health food stores, or to traditional food retailers and discounters," says Moser. Demand had risen sharply in the years leading up to the pandemic. Starting in May 2020, however, they saw a drastic break in demand. "Currently, however, we are feeling more tailwind for origin-based products again, which means that more products from Germany are now being bought again than from overseas, for example."
Biosanica's main product is 10x10mm apple cubes for the food industry. Apple powder, which is sold in very large quantities to the industry, is also among the top sellers, he said. Good sales are also recorded for apple chips. The machines for manufacturing the products come from Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.
Photo: Biosanica Ltd
Wide quality range
Biosanica also maintains close cooperation with its customers with regard to the development of new products, says Moser: "This is a key success factor of ours. In addition, given the large basic volume we offer in the organic sector, we are able to segment products according to appropriate qualities, right up to baby food standards. So we cover all areas. This is only possible if you can also produce corresponding quantities in-house."
"Through our analytical technology, we ensure a higher level of safety, especially for those customers who recycle the products. We have invested a lot in analytics, right through to on-site customer support, in order to minimize residues. We have also created a good basis for ourselves in terms of the volume of organic products on offer. We are also considering how we can utilize the residues even better in the future so that they are not only used as animal feed," Moser concludes.
For more information:
Jörg Moser
biosanica GmbH
Pommerndreieck 3
18516 Süderholz
Tel.: +49 (0) 38326 / 53 15 0
Fax: +49 (0) 38326 / 53 15 29
info@biosanica.de
biosanica.de