HZPC patents potato trait combining higher antioxidant levels with traditional flesh colour

Royal HZPC Group has been granted a patent for a new generation of potatoes with increased levels of flavonoids — natural antioxidants associated with potential health benefits — while keeping the familiar appearance of traditional white- and yellow-fleshed varieties. The trait was developed with Wageningen University & Research and is now being assessed for table and processing applications.

Royal HZPC Group has received a patent for a new generation of potatoes with increased levels of flavonoids, natural antioxidants associated with potential health benefits, FreshPlaza reports. The development combines characteristics of coloured potatoes with the appearance of traditional potatoes — a combination that breeders have long struggled to achieve.

Flavonoids belong to the polyphenol group and are associated with various potential health benefits. These compounds occur naturally in red and purple potatoes, which is precisely the problem: consumers often prefer potatoes with white or yellow flesh, so the nutritional bonus of coloured varieties has remained locked in a niche. HZPC therefore set out to develop a potato with an increased concentration of the flavonoid kaempferol while retaining the appearance of a traditional potato.

The development resulted from research conducted by the Breeding, Molecular Biology and Quality teams at Royal HZPC Group, with support from Wageningen University & Research — one of Europe’s leading agricultural research institutions and a long-standing partner of the Dutch potato sector.

“A patent is only granted when an innovation is genuinely novel and distinctive. That makes this patent particularly meaningful. We have developed a trait that combines the potential health benefits of coloured potatoes with a potato that looks more familiar to consumers,” said Stan Oome, Program Leader Molecular Biology at Royal HZPC Group.

The discovery originated from a research question within Royal HZPC Group’s breeding programme. By combining different genetic traits, researchers found it possible to develop potatoes with both increased flavonoid content and traditional flesh colour. According to Oome, the development illustrates the possibilities for introducing consumer-oriented traits into potato breeding programmes.

“Many innovations in our sector focus on yield, disease resistance or agronomic traits. This development is different because it focuses on a characteristic that may be directly relevant to consumers,” Oome noted — a signal that one of the world’s largest potato breeders sees health-positioned varieties as a commercially viable direction, not just a scientific curiosity.

Following the granting of the patent, Royal HZPC Group is assessing potential applications and markets for the new trait. Possible applications include table potatoes and processed potato products. Further research is also underway to optimise the trait and incorporate it into future potato varieties — meaning commercial varieties carrying the trait are not yet on the market, and no launch timeline has been announced.

The patent results from research combining molecular biology, plant breeding and quality assessment to develop additional characteristics for potatoes. “It confirms that there is still plenty of room for new ideas and new applications within potatoes,” Oome concludes.

For the wider sector, the move fits a broader pattern: breeders are increasingly looking beyond agronomic performance to traits that speak directly to consumers — flavour, colour, convenience and now health-related compounds. If HZPC’s flavonoid trait reaches commercial varieties, it would give retailers a fresh marketing story for a staple that rarely gets one — while keeping the product visually familiar to shoppers who have historically rejected pigmented flesh.