With the Fruit Logistica exhibition in February 5-7th in Berlin, Germany, our CEO Mr. Stefan Björk was interviewed by Potato Business to give our Key Business Outlook for 2025.
1. Considering the market volatility, supply chain disruptions, energy costs, and workforce scarcity, what does this past year look like for your company when you draw the line?
It has been an exciting year for us at Rosenqvists Food Technologies for which we are grateful. We managed to agree on project plans for classic and coated french fries, renovation of existing frying system to improve oil quality, stackable chips production, snack pellets and potato specialties. The projects are more and more demanding which forces our company to grow and our designs to be even more efficient. Every day teaches us something new and we are ready to adapt and learn together with our clients. During the year, we have expanded our internal and external production capacity and recruited new colleagues.
2. What are your expectations for next year, keeping in mind the legacy of 2024, but also the current challenges?
Luckily, we are engaged in a food sector where companies are investing for future growth and product development. On a global scale, the demand for french fries and potato chips are continuing to grow. This means that Rosenqvists Food Technologies will continue expanding also in 2025.
Special highlights are an R&D project for the next generation of potato chips fryers. Aiming to develop the most energy efficient solution ever designed. Other projects we look forward to is to further develop our coating line product reducing losses of batter when coating and frying, and to develop our distribution range products.
3. How do you estimate the market will evolve and what is your priority list for 2025?
Our objective is to do what we can to follow the growth plans of our clients. This means that we need to stay flexible being prepared for projects all over the world.
4. Where did the growth opportunities come from and what is the most important lesson you have learned in recent times?
Our clients are viewing lowest possible cost of ownership. With this in mind, we try to live up to expectations when it comes to production hours, maintenance, waste and input utilities. We will never be satisfied and will proceed our continuous efforts in our designs dedicated towards low cost of ownership.
5. What strategies are you implementing to maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly saturated market? How do you prioritize your investments versus your R&D efforts?
We go to work to help our clients to produce tasty french fries, potato specialties, potato chips or snacks. We understand that our clients experience important drivers for change such as quality analysis, energy recovery, lack of skilled labor, potato genetics, water scarcity, food safety, industry 4.0 and by-product handling. For Rosenqvists Food Technologies strategy moving forward is aiming to provide solutions which will help our clients to address the above opportunities/challenges. We will continue our strive, to learn more about the process know-how, advanced thermal design solutions and enable smart automation based on key data, all with the overall objective to lower total cost of ownership for our clients.
6. What was unexpected in 2024 and how did it impact your business?
We continue to fight to maintain our costs at a satisfactory level within a fastmoving world where inflation, currencies, and raw material prices still are fluctuating. We are growing a bit under pressure but at a healthy level, which keep us on our toes – driving constant development of our business skills and controlling.
7. Which are the most important drivers of change for your business in 2025? How do you plan to prepare for them?
The international business climate is strong and the willingness to invest and do business together is unchanged. Nevertheless, one can’t help to worry about the security and geopolitical situations present. At Rosenqvists Food Technologies, we believe in a continued strong global economy based on cooperation and free trade.
8. What would you like to see happening in 2025 for your stakeholders and business environment (in terms of policy, regulations, and market) in order for your business to thrive more?
On our wish list for 2025 is a break-through in green technology allowing significant reductions in carbon footprint aiming for production applications where large amount of energy is required. We hope for updated food safety regulations in Europe with realistic aims for acrylamide and glycoalkaloids in potato-based products. Beside these, we just want to continue to support our clients to grow and to produce great products for end consumers.
9. What is your vision for the industry over the next five years, and how does your company plan to contribute to its growth?
In five years, we have managed to establish sales and service support in North America and Asia with more possibilities to manufacture closer to our clients. We have a new generation of fryers for potato chips as well as leading designs for drying, coating and frying of french fries and frying potato specialties. For the increasing nut production, we can offer the best frying and cooling system with no waste of oil and short production stops. I am confident that there will be a lot of great things happening in Rosenqvists future. Thank you – all clients around the world who help us to develop, improve and become better for you!
