"Facts support that fries aren’t unhealthy"

Last year, Lamb Weston / Meijer was in the news with two hefty investments. The production location in Bergen op Zoom is expanded, and investments are done in Kruiningen in an update of the existing plant. High time to talk to CEO Bas Alblas about the developments within the company, the image of Lamb Weston’s most important product, fries, and his vision on the sector in the wider context of the food industry.

With frequent talk of decreasing consumption figures in the potato trade, Bas puts this claim in a wider context. “You have to be careful with statements like that, because it’s all about how far you look. In the Netherlands and Northwestern Europe, it’s true that we see consumption of potatoes decrease, but worldwide that trend isn’t noticeable.” In general, Bas sees that in countries where potatoes were on the menu virtually every day forty years ago, the consumption is now decreasing because food like rice and pasta is eaten more often. On the other hand, there’s a reverse trend in countries where rice and pasta were an important staple in the diet forty years ago. “In Italy, for instance, there’s a reverse trend. They mainly consumed pasta there, and now we’re seeing potato products on the menu more often as well.”

Bas advocates a different view on frozen products. “Refrigerated, we believe, doesn’t have the future. Our customers actually opt for frozen because of the consistent quality and predictability.” Refrigerated, according to Bas, is mostly a name that sounds fresh. “What’s the difference between refrigerated and frozen fresh?” Bas wonders aloud. “We receive, peel, wash, sort, cut, fry, pack and send out the products within two hours. Through freezing, the quality can be maintained better than with refrigerated products.”

Bas points out studies that show, when you look at nutritional value and other properties of fries, it turns out that the product is a lot healthier than the image would suggest. “The facts support that fries are not unhealthy.”

Bas also pleads for more openness. “I think that the food industry, and fruit and veg is part of that, should be more open about what we do. We have alienated the consumer. How many young people still know where cheese, steaks or a tomato come from? We have a mission to open our doors more widely, and to show the consumers of the future what we do.” At Lamb Weston, the doors were opened further a few years ago. Through a client, consumers are invited to follow the process from grower to consumer. Lamb Weston is visited as well. “One by one, the visitors are impressed, they consider our products to be pure and natural.”

Although with this initiative, a few dozen consumers per year are reached at most, Bas says this is a good way of reaching the consumer. “We have to come forward. Kom in de Kas (Come into the Greenhouse) is another good example. The past twenty to thirty years, we managed to keep a lot of people out of the food industry, but that way we also created a distance, and when products also become less recognizable, you end up in the current situation. If we don’t do anything, they talk and think about us, and that’s hardly always the truth. We have a great story that wants to be told.”