We know that high pressure processing can be used to produce foods and beverages with an extended shelf life that meets consumer demand for natural, fresh-tasting foods with no preservatives (See Food Engineering, “Novel No More,” October 2020). These advantages leave food and beverage processors with two choices to achieve an end product that has been HPP’d—use a toller or buy the equipment.

“Both options are economically viable,” says Roberto Peregrina, chief scientific technologist at Hiperbaric. “It all comes down to the mid-long term strategy of each company.” Tolling gives the ability of focusing resources to other areas of the business without necessarily having to tie up capital to buy an HPP unit. He says that this way, companies are able to focus more on the front-end of the business (i.e., marketing/sales) rather than the nitty-gritty of operations.

It also gives a quick start to those companies testing market concepts. “Tolling also gives the ability to understand the dynamics of HPP and prepare companies for the next step, which is owning your unit,” he says.

According to a report from Mordor Intelligence titled “Clean label ingredient market—Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021-2026),” the clean label ingredients market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.75%. It is no surprise, then, that the worldwide market for HPP equipment is expected to grow at a CAGR of roughly 11.7% and reach $850 million by 2024, up from $490 million in 2019, according to an industry report from MarketandResearch.biz titled, “Global High-Pressure Processing Equipment Market 2019 by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2024.”

Kevin Kennedy, North American sales manager at JBTAvure, says the pros for using a toller include no capital expenditure for HPP equipment or building infrastructure and immediate access to HPP processing—no waiting for machine delivery or building construction. He also says that additional services are available, including some upstream processing, kitting/assembly, tempering, coding, packaging, cold storage and distribution when using a toller. If a processor has seasonal products, Kennedy says that using a toller affords the use of HPP processing only when needed. There are no maintenance concerns and processors can have peace of mind when it comes to processing redundancy (multiple machine locations).

Of course, where there are pros, there must be cons. Kennedy says that using a toller can have higher costs, including the HPP processing itself, logistics and transportation. Lack of internal control; distance from product manufacturing (locations); availability of HPP processing/capacity (backlogs); and potential quality control issues with shipping/handling also are concerns to consider.

With regard to a processor buying its own equipment, Peregrina says that bringing HPP in-house definitely helps companies minimize all logistical aspects that the nature of tolling comes with, as well as streamlining operations and revenue. “Having full access to the technology gives companies the ability to test concepts at will,” he says.

Kennedy adds that the pros to bringing HPP in-house include lower HPP processing costs; no waiting for HPP machine availability; lower freight costs; in-house quality control; no product double handling; and automation to lower labor costs. He notes the cons can include an initial capital expenditure for HPP equipment and building infrastructure; ongoing maintenance attention and costs; lack of redundancy with only one machine; and labor required for product loading/unloading.

CASE BY CASE

Some companies begin small and outsource the HPP part of the process, with the hope they will eventually grow large enough to bring an HPP machine in-house and maybe become tollers themselves, servicing their surrounding area. Others choose to buy HPP equipment right off the bat and use the technology solely for their own products.

Intermountain HPP, for instance, originated in late 2019 to service the HPP needs of its juice company and to toll for other manufacturers as a way to utilize excess capacity and to offset the expense.

The founder of Fresh Innovations learned about HPP more than 20 years ago as he was looking for a way to keep his avocados and guacamole fresher, longer. When he discovered how HPP could help avocados maintain their freshness longer without adding chemicals or preservatives, he purchased a machine and the rest is history.

Safety Fresh Foods came about when its Healthy Roots juice business was utilizing a toller during the first year of production. They found that being a small customer at a tolling operation presented some unique challenges, both logistically and financially, and this is what led them to start Safety Fresh Foods.

Great Lakes HPP and Food Innovation Center began as a salsa maker and utilized a toller while they awaited the arrival of their HPP machine. The company became a toller itself and has all the infrastructure needed to install its second line.

Texas Food Solutions started as a manufacturer of Perfect Fit ready meals and wanted to find a way to keep selling fresh, clean label meals over a larger area. They redeveloped as an HPP product and started using a toll processor. Once volumes grew, it made sense to transition to owning a machine. While looking into that, they realized that had a unique skill set and capability, so they decided to open a tolling operation as a new venture, and Texas Food Solutions was born.

New Mexico Fresh Foods is a social enterprise committed to growing the local food economy of New Mexico by bringing new food processing technology to Albuquerque. They purchased Verde Food Company, which manufactures premium cold-pressed juice, many of the ingredients for which are grown by local farmers, to be the backbone of its cold-packaging and private labeling offerings. They are the first HPP tolling company in the Southwest and the only commercial manufacturer of cold-pressed hemp juice.

Q&As with representatives from each of the above mentioned processors can be found by clicking on the links below. All Q&As have been edited for style, length and clarity. FE