Irrico Group of Companies (part of the VTB Group) signed a contract with Frito Lay Manufacturing LLC (part of PepsiCo), for the supply of Stavropol potatoes for the preparation of Lay’s brand chips.

Irrico grows potatoes using a modern irrigation system, which allows them to get a quality crop in the south of Russia, in the Stavropol Territory, in the summer. Deliveries of early potatoes will begin at the end of June this year. A modern storage facility allows for long-term storage of potatoes in the winter-spring period and deliveries until the end of June next year.

“Lay’s specialized varieties of chips are grown by us in accordance with PepsiCo’s stringent quality standards. Our agricultural technologies and a modern irrigation system make it possible to start deliveries already in June, which is early for harvesting agricultural producers from central Russia,” said Victoria Askhabalieva, commercial director of Irrico Group of Companies.

Alexander Kostikov, communications director, PepsiCo in Russia said: “All Lay’s chips that we sell in Russia are made exclusively from potatoes grown in Russia. For chips special types of potatoes are needed, while we make very high demands both on the quality of the potatoes and on the working principles of our agricultural suppliers. Inclusion of potato suppliers for Lay’s in the pool is a kind of “quality mark” for the farmer, confirming compliance with world production standards.”

PepsiCo is the largest industrial potato processor in Russia. Every year, the company purchases more than 350 thousand tons of potatoes from local suppliers. In order to use raw material exclusively from Russia, the company launched a program to support potato suppliers back in 1996. As part of the program, potato farms were provided with high-quality planting material, and farmers received ongoing assistance and expert advice, and participate in workshops.

This year, Irrico plans to collect more than 50 thousand tons of potatoes, a third of which will be delivered to several large processing plants of international and domestic companies producing chips, French fries, potato wedges, starch and cereal.