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Manufacturers capitalise on air fryer trend with government support
Welsh food producers have been turning to Project HELIX for support in developing air fryer cooking instructions for their products.
The government-backed project has already delivered nearly £500m in impact to the food and drink industry since its launch in 2016.
Pembrokeshire-based Puffin Produce and Swansea’s Lewis Pies are just two of the food businesses that approached ZERO2FIVE – a Project HELIX funded consultancy – looking for help in capitalising on the air fryer trend.
Puffin Produce, one of the largest suppliers of Welsh produce in Wales, sought a way to update the packaging for their range of Root Zero carbon neutral potatoes.
Cooking trials
The technical experts at ZERO2FIVE carried out a series of cooking trials utilising four different brands of air fryer of the same wattage and volume. Repeated tests enabled the development of air fryer cooking instructions that resulted in roasted and wedged potatoes with the optimum visual, textural, temperature and taste attributes.
Huw Thomas, Puffin Produce managing director, said: “The collaborative support from Project HELIX has been invaluable in helping us capitalise on the air fryer cooking trend.
“As a more energy efficient method of cooking, we particularly felt it tied in well with our Root Zero range. Based on the project’s success, we have already worked with ZERO2FIVE to develop air fryer cooking instructions for our ‘Blas y Tir’ range too.”
In the case of Lewis Pies, the Swansea-based business worked with ZERO2FIVE to carry out a series of cooking trials to develop air fryer cooking instructions that resulted in safe internal product temperatures, as well as optimum appearance, taste and texture.
Consumer demand
Lewis Pies technical manager Emma Burgess said: “The technical support from ZERO2FIVE has allowed us to respond as quickly as possible to the increased consumer demand for air fryer cooking instructions. We’re already looking to roll air fryer instructions out across our other ranges and we’ll certainly be approaching ZERO2FIVE for support when we do so.”
Project HELIX is delivered by three food centres across Wales that make up Food Innovation Wales. The project provides a range of funded technical and commercial support to Welsh food and drink companies, including assistance with food safety management, new product development and process efficiency.
Professor David Lloyd, director of ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre, added: “It’s vitally important that Welsh food and drink companies stay on top of the latest trends so that they can remain competitive in the marketplace.
“Whether it’s developing air fryer cooking instructions, reformulating existing products to make them healthier, or analysing factory floor processes to reduce waste, Project HELIX can offer a range of funded support to Welsh food and drink companies.”
