News on Food Trends from Europe

EUROPLANT marked major anniversaries by raising €20,000 (USD 21,400) for AGUAPAN, a Peruvian initiative preserving potato diversity crucial for breeding, climate resilience, and global food security.

French Fries from McDonald’s may be world-famous, but they often grow just around the corner. Behind every portion of fries stand local farmers cultivating the potatoes, and Dutch entrepreneurs working together for more sustainable potato farming.

Atlas Copco’s heat pumps and steam compressors turn low-temperature waste heat into high-temp energy, cutting energy use and emissions. Electrification replaces fossil fuels, enabling efficient, sustainable, and decarbonized industrial heating.

Princesa Amandine will be present at the 17th edition of Fruit Attraction, one of the leading international meeting points for the fruit and vegetable sector, which will bring together more than 120,000 professionals from 150 countries.

PotatoEurope 2025 set records with 17,268 visitors from 107 countries on Sept 3-4 in Lelystad, Netherlands. Live demos, trial fields, and top innovations like Croptimal’s Croptiscan 9000 highlighted the event. Next edition: Sept 9-10, 2026, Germany.

Royal Avebe acquires Solan, Poland’s leading potato flakes & granules producer. The move, part of Avebe’s 'Strengthen & Accelerate' strategy, expands its portfolio, adds 100+ staff & 140 farmers, and keeps SOLAN® brand under Avebe’s umbrella.

Tummers and PolySense partner to launch AI-powered, camera-based potato processing. Debuting on the Delta Roller Spreader, it boosts efficiency, cuts waste, and fuels Tummers Connect, the digital platform for smarter, data-driven operations.

PotatoEurope 2025 takes place 3–4 Sept. at WUR Lelystad with 300+ exhibitors & visitors from 119 countries. Highlights: trial harvests, ICM & market conferences, live demos from harvest to sorting, and innovation test fields.

Branston potato growers gathered in Lincolnshire to explore new varieties, including a nutty salad potato and Inca Rosa, aimed at supermarkets by 2026. The field walk showcased trials, yields, and innovations, with Tesco also backing the development.

Investindustrial will acquire Kiremko, Idaho Steel, and Reyco, leading potato processing equipment makers. The deal unites 3 family-owned firms into a global platform, aiming for growth via integration, innovation, and expansion.

Following the recent announcement of CêlaVíta's bankruptcy, several companies have expressed interest in acquiring the Dutch producer of chilled potatoes. This raises cautious hopes for a possible restart, according to bankruptcy trustee Frans Aartsen.

Potato Professionals in the United Kingdom gathered for the annual Potatoes in Practice (PiP)event, hosted by the National Potato Innovation Centre (NPIC), in partnership with SRUC and Agrii, at The James Hutton Institute’s Baldruddery Farm.

Tolsma-Grisnich has moved to new sustainable premises at Cavalier 3, Emmeloord, uniting production, logistics & offices. The modern facility boosts efficiency & innovation. Official opening: 5 Sept for business relations, 6 Sept for the public.

Rosenqvists Food Technologies wins Krinova’s Innovation Award 2025 for combining tradition and innovation to drive sustainability, local growth, and Sweden’s global standing. Award received at Kristianstad’s Guldjubel gala by Stefan Björk & Anders Olsson.

Researchers from the Universities of Potsdam and Erlangen, the Max Planck Institute and the National Institute of Biology in Ljubljana developed Potato-GEM, a genome-scale metabolic model to study growth–defense trade-offs in crops.

Chilled Potato producer CêlaVíta has gone bankrupt. The Dutch company supplied pre-cut potatoes and pre-seasoned potato products to supermarkets, hotels, and restaurants throughout Europe.

In Venlo, the Netherlands, circularity is not just a vision - it’s a working reality. At Looop, a company with roots in the agri-food sector dating back nearly a century, the last 30 years have marked a transformation.

In July 2025, the FAO Food Price Index averaged 130.1 points, up 2.1 points (1.6%) from June. Falls in cereals, dairy, and sugar were outweighed by rises in meat and vegetable oils. The index was 7.6% above July 2024 but 18.8% below March 2022’s peak.