Welsh food companies tap into air fryer trend with Government support

Welsh food and drink companies are capitalising on the air fryer cooking trend thanks to the support of a Welsh Government backed project.

Pembrokeshire-based Puffin Produce and Swansea’s Lewis Pies were both helped to develop air fryer cooking instructions for their product ranges as a result of funded technical support from Project HELIX. With 45% of households now owning an air fryer, it’s allowed both companies to take advantage of a consumer trend which has swept across the UK.

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.

Puffin Produce, the largest supplier of Welsh produce in Wales, contacted ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University for support when they were in the process of updating the packaging for their range of Root Zero carbon neutral potatoes.

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, managing director, Puffin Produce, 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.”

Swansea-based Lewis Pies also approached ZERO2FIVE for support when they were revamping their award-winning range of Wilfred’s luxury pies.

Once again, the technical experts at ZERO2FIVE carried out a series of cooking trials to develop air fryer cooking instructions that resulted in safe internal product temperatures as well as the optimum appearance, taste and texture.

Emma Burgess, technical manager, Lewis Pies, 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.”

Professor David Lloyd, director of ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre, said:

“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.”