Good Practice - Project
Production of frozen fruit puree
LEADER funds help a farm diversify its income with new equipment for processing fresh fruit into added value frozen puree.
General information
RDP Priority
- P6. Social inclusion and local development
RDP Focus Area
- 6B: Local development
RDP Measure
- M19: LEADER/CLLD
Beneficiary type
- Small-Micro Enterprise
Summary
The company LUKRENA s.a. is a commercial farm established in 1999 in Dolní Lukavice, Czechia. The company deals with mixed plant and animal production and it also manages 50 hectares (ha) of orchards. The orchards are used to produce apples, plums, and pears. Prior to the project, the company only sold fresh fruits from their orchards. To diversify production, the company used LEADER funds to help add value to their nutritious fruit by processing the fresh products into frozen puree. This involved creating and fitting out a modern processing facility by purchasing a fruit puree maker and freezer box made of polyurethane panels including cooling technology, as well as stainless steel equipment for the freezer box and processing room.
Results
- Thanks to the new products, consumer interest has increased and repeat sales have grown.
- The production of frozen products has enabled the company to diversify its income and increase its competitiveness.
- There has been a positive impact on production efficiency and the processing facility allows food loss or waste from the orchards to be reduced.
Promoter
LUKRENA a.s.
Funding
Total budget 36 703 (EUR)
EAFRD: 9 698 (EUR)
National/Regional: 5 455 (EUR)
Private/own: 15 180 (EUR)
Other: 6 370 (EUR)
Ressourcen
Documents
Good practice report : Production of frozen fruit puree
(PDF – 2.81 MB)
Links
Context
The LUKRENA s.a. company was established in 1999 and deals with mixed plant and animal production across approximately 3 290 ha. It breeds approximately 1 050 cattle for milk production and rearing bulls. Some 2 800 ha is arable land used to produce fodder, cereals and rape. Approximately 440 ha is grassland and almost 50 ha is orchards, used primarily to produce apples, plums and pears. Before the project, the company did not have the resources to process fruits from its orchard into frozen puree products.
Objectives
The aims of this investment project were to increase direct sales and competitiveness by diversifying the company’s production and expanding its product range.
Activities
Project activities included:
- Constructing a processing room made of polyurethane panels with dimensions of 4.4x3x3 m.
- Purchasing an electric fruit puree maker made of stainless steel. The puree maker can process more than 250 kg of fruit per hour.
- Purchasing a freezer box made of polyurethane panels with a thickness of at least 100 and 120 mm with freezing technology using a condensing cooling unit with an output of at least 4.5 kW and an evaporator of at least 5 kW.
- Purchasing equipment for the freezer and the processing room comprising of stainless-steel racks, stainless steel table and double sink.
Main results
- Thanks to the new LEADER funded products, consumer interest has increased and repeat sales have grown. There has also been a positive impact on production efficiency because the processing of soft fruit means there are now almost no losses.
- The production of frozen products has enabled the company to diversify its income and increase its competitiveness. The subsequent sale of frozen products directly to end customers also supports the local market and job stability.
- In the future, the company anticipates the further expansion of its product range to include fruit ice creams. They believe that they will reach more new customers and further improve their production efficiency.
Key lessons
- Adding value to products via food processing can help reduce food loss or waste, and LEADER can co-fund this.
- Diversification projects should be based on thorough market analysis and extensive preparatory work, such as finding the right nutritious recipes, production procedures and pricing plans.
- Agrifood producers should not hesitate to innovate and seek inspiration from peers, at home or abroad.
We strive to constantly innovate and expand our own product portfolio.
Contact Information
Email: Info@lukrena.cz