With around 300 employees worldwide, Solana Group is a medium-sized, 100% family-owned company specializing in the breeding, licensing, seed potato production, and cultivation of high-quality potato varieties. Building on its strong reputation in table and crisp potatoes, Solana has also established a solid position in the French fry market. Leading food and fast-food players rely on Solana’s genetics. With 120 years of heritage, the company combines this with a distinctly entrepreneurial and innovative mindset, says Managing Director Tobias Mette.
Tobias Mette - Managing Director of Solana Group
“If you’re not from the potato industry, you won’t stay long.” That’s what people told Tobias Mette when he joined Solana Group from the livestock breeding and poultry sector. Eight years on, and with no intention of leaving in the foreseeable future, he has clearly proved them wrong. “Solana was already considered one of the best companies in the industry based on existing standards. However, as an ‘outsider,’ I saw potential for modernization and professionalization to drive further success. We are now on track to achieve our ambitious ten-year growth target a couple of years earlier than expected.”
What’s going on in the potato market, and how are the trends affecting your business?
Our activities focus on three core areas: breeding and legally protecting new potato varieties, licensing those varieties either to our seed production companies in nine countries or to external partners worldwide, and producing seed potatoes that we sell to farmers and food industry players.
Developing new plant genetics is a long, complex process, so product portfolios evolve in waves. Our current portfolio is rather young compared to the average age of portfolios in the industry, providing good momentum for at least the next decade – with our breeding department committed to sustaining that momentum beyond that timeframe. This places us in a strong competitive position, especially as some major competitor varieties are on a downward trajectory in their portfolio cycles.
What does that mean for your growth prospects?
Just a few years into our growth strategy, we’ve already achieved 75% of our ten-year target to double seed potato sales. In parallel, we are expanding the production acreage on our own farms by at least 2,000 hectares in order to meet rising demand.
You’re increasingly moving into the potato market for French fries and crisps. To what extent does this industry require a different approach?
Supply chain reliability is critical for our industry customers, who must maximize capacity utilization in their factories and also consistently ensure their retail, food service, and fast-food clients receive the right quality, in the right place, at the right time. As our genetics and seed potatoes sit at the very start of that value chain, we actively support our customers’ efficiency through collaboration, communication, and digital integration. For example, we’re working on various projects to improve the exchange and analysis of data about variety trials, crop performance, climate conditions, and planning and forecasting.
What else sets your company apart in the market?
Our customers increasingly see genetics – our varieties – as a strategic input into their end products. Thanks to producing early generations at our own cultivation companies, we guarantee controlled quality. Additionally, unlike competitors who also propagate older or unlicensed varieties, we are 100% committed to licensed products, which means that we consistently bring genetic improvements to the industry. This differentiates us in the market, including in the eyes of fast-food chains – our customers’ customers – who increasingly want a say in which varieties are used for their French fries.
You are now searching for an Industry Relations Manager, which is a new role within the company. Why did you decide to create this function?
This role will better align our organization with customer needs. Our international customers often cultivate a variety in multiple countries. This requires not only local technical, operational, and sales support but also coordination at a global level. That’s why we’re looking for an Industry Relations Manager.
What will the role entail?
To gain an outside-in perspective, the role will involve translating a deep understanding of customer challenges into internal problem-solving actions. It also entails building long-term partnerships to overcome the industry’s traditionally season-driven and transactional mindset. The Industry Relations Manager will act as an ambassador for the potato industry within Solana Group.
Which characteristics or skills will the successful candidate need?
Driving the necessary change calls for entrepreneurial spirit, creativity to develop own ideas, and the ability to persuade and align stakeholders, both internally and externally. Agronomic knowledge isn’t essential, since we have a team of in-house technical experts. However, experience in the agrifood or French fry industry would be beneficial from a networking perspective.
Adaptability is also crucial. With customers in 60 countries worldwide, Solana Group is active in a dynamic and unpredictable environment. Our company is resilient in the face of a crisis, but the ability to manage uncertainty, respond to change and quickly identify alternative markets for our products is a key requirement for success.
Tell us a little more about the culture at Solana Group.
We believe the industry needs a fundamental shake-up, and we want to be the driving force behind that change. Although our company is 120 years old, we have the spirit of a startup in many ways. We consistently challenge established thinking and encourage disruption.
Solana Group remains a 100% family-owned business, but the recent generational transition in ownership has injected new energy and is attracting younger talent. Following this transition, we restructured the company and defined a clear growth strategy, setting ambitious but realistic targets at both individual and team levels.
What makes you unique as an employer?
Employees are given a high degree of autonomy but also accountability. Making mistakes is accepted as part of the learning process. We prioritize results over physical presence and place strong emphasis on maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Flexible home-working arrangements and an understanding of family commitments have helped create a highly motivated workforce and strong momentum for positive change.
What’s the outlook for the future?
Our share of the French fry potato market is rapidly increasing, and we are already dealing with the global top ten. Further intensifying these relationships, as well as engaging with rapidly emerging new entrants, particularly from Asia, is a key priority. The crisps potato market is more fragmented and offers significant development potential for the Industry Relations Manager to explore. With the right portfolio, production setup, and capabilities in place, we are well positioned to become one of the leading suppliers of seed potatoes for the processing industry in the years ahead. All we need now is the right person to help turn this potential into reality.
