Image courtesy of Aviko Rixona

Fairs & Events

Plant-Based Nuggets Made With Aviko Rixona’s Potato Cheezz Named Best Frozen Product at Gulfood

Global potato product supplier Aviko Rixona is celebrating after nuggets made with its unique potato-based cheese alternative were named Best Frozen Product at Gulfood 2025. Called the Tater Cheezz Nugget, the winning product is produced by Aviko Rixona customer ARK34 Ltd. Aviko Rixona has warmly congratulated the company on its success. Gulfood is one of the world’s largest food and beverage trade fairs, and takes place annually in Dubai. The event provides a platform for trends, products, and innovations in the food and beverage industry. Potato Cheezz Aviko Rixona first unveiled its plant-based Potato Cheezz in 2022. The product is claimed to be the first ever cheese alternative made from potatoes, with a similar taste, texture, and appearance to dairy cheese. Uniquely, the plant-based cheese …

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Carl Wessel of Aviko Rixona

Carl Wessel. © Aviko Rixona

Interviews

Aviko Rixona: “Our Potato Cheezz is Unique and Different Because of Its Patented Process”

Aviko Rixona is a Dutch producer of dried potato products, providing solutions for a range of markets including snacks, bakery products, and the culinary industry. Last year, the company — which is a subsidiary of agricultural cooperative Royal Cosun — unveiled a new product, Potato Cheezz. The plant-based cheese alternative is said to effectively replicate several varieties of dairy cheese, while containing no added salt or fat. Carl Wessel is the Business Development Manager at Aviko Rixona. He was offered the position after working in the food industry his whole career, and quickly recognised the potential of Potato Cheezz to make a huge impact in the food transition. We spoke to him to find out more about the company’s innovative potato-based solutions. You will introduce …

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Polopo CEO Maya Sapir Mir

Polopo CEO Maya Sapir Mir

Opinion

Op Ed: Maya Sapir-Mir, PhD, CEO and Co-Founder of PoLoPo, on Growing Animal Proteins from Potatoes

Maya Sapir-Mir is CEO and co-founder of PoLoPo, a molecular farming pioneer producing proteins directly in common crops, beginning with egg protein (ovalbumin) grown in potatoes. PoLoPo last year raised $2.3 million in pre-seed funding and recently unveiled its molecular farming platform, SuperAA, for producing key proteins ovalbumin and patatin. Maya has nearly ten years of experience in the biotech industry and agricultural R&D and holds a PhD in plant sciences from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She performed post-doctoral work at the Volcani Institute, Israel’s leading agricultural R&D facility, in protein identification, extraction, and characterization in plants and microorganisms. Here, she explains the importance of this emerging biotechnology; “Instead of inefficiently growing plants to feed animals crowded in factory farms, molecular farming gives us …

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Aviko Rixona

© Aviko Rixona

Cheese Alternatives

Aviko Rixona Uses Potatoes to Make “Healthiest Ever” Vegan Cheese

Aviko Rixona, a Dutch producer of dried potato products, has launched a plant-based cheese alternative made from potatoes. Potato Cheezz is said to look and taste like dairy cheese, with a similar texture. However, the product is distinctive in that it is free of fat and salt, which according to Aviko makes it healthier than conventional cheese or any other plant-based alternative. Potato Cheezz is available for food service in ten-kilogram blocks, and is said to be ideal for use in finger foods, snacks, and fillings for meat substitutes. A separate version is available for pizzas. Potato-based dairy alternatives Aviko Rixona is not the only company making alt dairy products out of potatoes. Sweden’s DUG has developed a highly successful range of potato-based milk alternatives, …

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Branston Ltd potatoes

© Branston Ltd.

Agriculture / Agribusiness

Branston, One of the Biggest Potato Distributors in UK, Announces £6M Potato Protein Factory

Following this week’s news of a new potato-based mylk; Branston, one of the UK’s biggest potato buyers, packers, distributors and marketers with sites in Lincolnshire, Somerset and Scotland, recently announced the construction of a new factory specialising in the production of potato protein. The new factory, in which Branston is investing approximately 6 million pounds, will process potatoes from the company’s regional growing areas. The plant is being developed with agri-tech start-up B-hive Innovations and is believed to be the first of its kind in the country. Branston’s managing director, Richard Fell, explains, “Most people are aware of the healthy ingredients like fibre in potatoes, but they don’t think about the very nutritious protein content.” Sustainable crops, locally sourced Up to now, Branston has supplied …

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