What determines the price of fresh chips?

Anyone looking for a new supplier wants to know what fresh chips cost. There is, however, no fixed price per kilo that applies to every business. The price of fresh chips depends on a range of factors, from the variety and the harvest to the way the chips reach your kitchen. Below you can read what those factors are, so you can compare quotes more easily and know what to look out for.

1. The potato itself: variety, harvest and season

It all starts in the field. A chipping potato needs enough dry matter and little sugar, otherwise the chips turn limp or brown too quickly. Varieties that score well on both counts, such as Agria, are sought after by growers and processors alike. The course of the growing season matters too: a dry summer or a wet autumn affects the yield and quality of the whole harvest, and with it the market.

The season also plays a part in storage. Potatoes that need to stay in good condition for months call for space, care and energy. At Friet van Beus, Agria goes through the cutting machine from September to July and Frieslander for a few weeks in August, so that all year round the variety being cut is the one at its best at that moment. Why that switch happens is explained under Agria or Frieslander.

2. Cut, processing and packaging

There is work between the field and your fryer. The potatoes are washed, scraped, cut and packed. The more that happens, the more labour and machine time goes into every kilo. A thick or a thin cut, skin on or skin off: it all affects the yield per potato and therefore what a kilo of chips costs. You can read more about choosing a cut under chip thickness and cut.

Fresh chips from Friet van Beus are vacuum packed in 10 kg bags, free of additives and not pre-fried. That last point means you do the pre-frying and finishing yourself. It takes a few more steps than a bag of frozen chips, but in return you get a product whose preparation is entirely in your own hands.

3. Volume and delivery

How much you take and how often counts in every price. A fixed weekly order is easier for a supplier to plan than occasional orders. The distance from the farm and the way of delivering matter as well. The Van Beusichem family cuts on Tuesday and Friday mornings, after which regular drivers deliver the fresh chips across the whole of the central Netherlands. How that works is explained on fresh chips delivery.

If you would rather buy whole potatoes and cut them yourself, the price works out differently again. You do the cutting and save costs that way, but you do need a chip cutter and space in the kitchen. See peeled potatoes for catering.

4. What you get for the price

A price per kilo only means something once you know what you get for it. When comparing prices per kilo, it pays to look beyond the figure. How many chips do you get out of it, how consistent are they through the year, how much is wasted and what do your customers think? Service counts too: short lines to the people who grow the potatoes, advice on frying fat and frying routine, and a supplier who understands what goes on in your kitchen. What fresh chips can deliver beyond that is covered under the returns on fresh chips.

Would you like to know what fresh chips would cost your business? Contact Thijs on 06 23972300, by phone or message, or send us a request. You will then receive a price that fits your volume, your cut and your location.

Frequently asked questions