Avebe Turns to Potato Starch and Protein for Vegan Sweets and Health Innovation
Avebe, a potato starch producer based in Veendam, has received an international award for developing a modified potato starch that dramatically speeds up the drying process of vegan sweets such as gummy candies. Traditional gelatin-based gummies rely on animal protein to form a firm, elastic structure, while plant-based alternatives often require up to 72 hours of drying before packaging. Avebe’s adapted starch, added during the drying stage, cuts that time to just three hours, solving a concrete bottleneck for confectionery manufacturers. According to Mark Laus, Avebe’s Director of Market Innovation, “the potato remains the basis, but innovation constantly creates new possibilities for potato starch and protein production.” Professor Mark van der Maarel of the University of Groningen, who previously worked as a research manager at Avebe, confirms this shift, noting that twenty years ago the potato was viewed mainly as a source of starch and animal feed protein, whereas today researchers look far more broadly at what can be extracted from it.
The changing focus extends well beyond starch. Potato protein, long treated as a residual by-product of starch extraction—once forming foam in the ditches of the northern Netherlands—has become a subject of nutritional and health research. Immunologist John Laman of the UMCG, who has collaborated with Avebe for over 25 years, describes this transformation as remarkable, noting that what once had little economic value is now studied for applications in gut health and, previously, in products against skin inflammation. This shift is driven partly by pressure on the starch potato sector and declining revenues, pushing companies to seek products with higher yields and greater value than bulk starch alone. Consumers rarely recognize the potato in vegan candies, plant-based ingredients, or university laboratory projects, yet all of it begins with the same raw material cultivated in Groningen’s fields for generations.
