Iscon Balaji Wins Saudifood Excellence Award, Debuts CrispX Fries in Jeddah

Indian potato processor Iscon Balaji Foods won the Saudifood Excellence Award 2026 at The Saudi Food Show in Jeddah and gave its new Hungritos Everlasting CrispX fries a regional debut aimed at delivery and fast-casual foodservice.

Текст (EN)

Iscon Balaji Foods (IBF), one of India’s leading vertically integrated potato processors, concluded what the company describes as a milestone showcase at The Saudi Food Show 2026, held at the Jeddah Superdome from 27 to 29 September. The company presented its flagship consumer and commercial brand Hungritos and left with the Saudifood Excellence Award 2026, which recognized its manufacturing standards and focus on convenience food innovation.

The commercial centerpiece of the exhibition was the official regional debut of Hungritos’ new Everlasting CrispX fries — a product engineered for the performance demands of fast-casual dining, commercial kitchens and delivery-centric food businesses. Operating live frying counters throughout the three-day show at Booth 4-K1, the team demonstrated the product’s key selling point in real time: holding time and crunch retention. In a delivery-driven market, fries that keep a crisp exterior and heat long after frying address one of the most persistent complaints in foodservice, and the company reports that visiting chefs, caterers and foodservice operators praised exactly that performance.

Beyond the fry launch, visitors sampled an extensive portfolio of Hungritos frozen potato finger foods and specialty cuts. Attendees highlighted the natural potato taste, uniform golden appearance and high kitchen yields, according to the company’s post-show release.

The company profiles behind the launch are worth noting. Iscon Balaji Foods makes frozen French fries, potato snacks and dried flakes, supplying wedges, hash browns, aloo tikki and other ready-to-cook items to foodservice and retail sectors in India and export markets; Hungritos, its consumer-facing brand, spans French fries, potato snacks, veggie appetizers and dehydrated potato products. The Jeddah award — presented for manufacturing standards and a continuous focus on convenience food innovation — became a talking point across the exhibition halls, according to the release, with nonstop culinary sampling running through all three days of the show.

The strategic target is the GCC. Supported by integrated agronomy and automated processing facilities in Gujarat, India, Iscon Balaji presented itself as able to provide scalable, export-ready, halal-certified frozen solutions. Commercial discussions during the show focused on regional distribution partnerships, institutional foodservice contracts and custom private-label programs across Saudi Arabia and neighboring GCC markets. The award win, the company notes, drew steady traffic from trade delegates, regional retail buyers and QSR chains looking for dependable supply partners.

The Jeddah showing is the second international trade push by the company in a month: Iscon Balaji also exhibited at MIHAS 2026 in Kuala Lumpur in late September, targeting halal export corridors in Southeast Asia. Together the two appearances map a deliberate export strategy built on halal certification and foodservice-grade product development, as Indian frozen potato exporters press into markets where European suppliers have historically dominated but now face price competition from Asia.

Источники

• PotatoPro (первоисточник: Iscon Balaji Foods Pvt. Ltd.), 12.10.2026 — https://www.potatopro.com/news/2026/iscon-balaji-foods-showcases-hungritos-crispx-fries-and-wins-saudifood-excellence-award (Saudifood Excellence Award 2026; The Saudi Food Show, Jeddah Superdome, 27–29.09; стенд 4-K1; дебют Everlasting CrispX; характеристики продукта по отзывам; портфель Hungritos; стратегия GCC, халяль, private label и дистрибуция)