Business Trip to LWM RUS

WESSLING laboratory in Russia has been closely working with Burger King's restaurant chain for more than three years now, which includes not only microbiological as well as physical and chemical tests on the premises of the laboratory, but also staff visits to restaurants for large-scale cutting sessions of organoleptic products. These visits take place once a quarter. Our staff also conduct product endorsement projects before mass delivery to the restaurants and facilitate the obligatory exchange of experience with suppliers in the form of staff meetings, conferences, and hospitality events.

As part of these efforts, on 7 September 2021 the WESSLING laboratory team — general director Yulia Yartseva, head of laboratory Elena Oleinik, head of analytical laboratory Dmitry Mironov, and marketing and PR manager Marina Fedorovskaya — visited a factory of the LWM RUS international agricultural holding in the Lipetsk region.

The LWM RUS plant is the first french-fry production site in the whole of Russia and, as such, supplies fried potatoes to the big three fast-food restaurant chains in Russia — KFC, McDonald's, and Burger King. Even though all suppliers delivering LWM's product to restaurants use the latest equipment, each and every batch undergoes quality control in our laboratory. LWM works together with farmers to use modern technologies to grow potatoes, and actively researches and implements global best practices from foreign markets. This mutually beneficial cooperation with farmers helps ensure high yields of high-quality potatoes.

The WESSLING team was given a warm and professional welcome by the representatives of LWM RUS. Quality manager Alexander Kuzyukov and certification specialist Tatiana Nechayeva walked the team through the entire process of growing, storing, transporting, and processing potatoes, strictly controlled throughout by food safety management programs.

Two more participants joined the meeting online: Restaurant Brands International (RBI)'s Cuttings Project Coordinator for EMEA, Sara Martin, from Spain, and LWM's Lab Team Lead, Willem Jan Duijff, from the Netherlands.

The meeting led to shared understanding on points important to both the laboratory and the production site:

• the quality and production control methods used in production,
• a sensory calibration of the methods used for physical and sensory potato testing,
• the dependence of potato quality and characteristics on seasonality.

As a result of the meeting, both sides reached agreements on the further course of the partnership — an important and necessary step in the ongoing collaboration between WESSLING and LWM RUS.