Gourmet chip manufacturer, Naturally Homegrown Foods, Ltd. has been able to improve application consistency, reduce waste and simplify cleaning operations by installing a new seasoning system from equipment provider tna.
The investment has enabled Naturally Homegrown Foods to deliver consistent coverage and flavour for its high-end potato chip brand, Hardbite Chips, by replacing an out-of-date steel coating drum and dry powder applicator with an efficient automated system.
Based in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, Naturally Homegrown Foods specialises in the production of high-quality batch-fried chips and supplies leading retail locations in Canada, the US and Asia.
The company needed a flexible seasoning solution that ensured consistent and efficient application of eight different dry seasonings, with minimum machine downtime between flavour changes. In addition, the new system had to integrate and work seamlessly alongside other processing machinery in the facility.
Improved flavour consistency
Naturally Homegrown Foods installed the tna intelli-flav®OMS 5 seasoning system to ensure uniformity for every chip produced. A perfect solution for the Hardbite range, the tna intelli-flav OMS 5 features a responsive variable mass seasoning system with dynamic vibratory weigher to directly control powder application from the drum. This enables an accurate, proportional amount of seasoning to be consistently applied to the product for improved coverage and flavour dispersion – even for products with irregular surfaces, including batch-fried chips.
Kirk Homenick, president at Naturally Homegrown Foods, said: “We’ve seen a vast improvement in seasoning consistency as a result of installing the tna intelli-flav OMS 5 – most notably, we’ve been able to reduce our seasoning application rate from 8-9% down to 5-6%.”
Ultimate flexibility
Rapidly changing consumer demands have increased pressure on snack manufacturers to run a variety of capacities, package sizes and materials within their plant. Teri Johnson, regional sales manager – tna explains: “To increase their product portfolio at minimum cost, food manufacturers are increasingly looking for more flexibility in their existing production lines to customise their offering and respond to shifts in consumer demand and preferences. Manufacturers adding new flavours to their product range, for example, will require a system that allows for quick product and flavour change and outputs to be adjusted according to demand.”
With the Hardbite Chips range including eight different flavour profiles, Naturally Homegrown Foods required a seasoning system that offered rapid cleaning time for flavour changes and minimum downtime.
