There are many different varieties of potatoes in Korea, from Sumi potatoes, which account for about 80% of the country’s production, to Jopung, Pungnong, Dubaek, Haryeong, Seohong, Dami, Daegwang, and Daebaek, and even red and blue potatoes depending on the individual farmer.

Batt Agricultural Corporation‘s sustainable potato farming and products

Batt Agricultural Corporation, whose slogan is “Better Agriculture to Grow Together,” is committed to sustainable agriculture. The company is an agricultural content platform that connects urban and rural areas, and delivers the value of agriculture by branding and bringing products to the city. Batt purchases a variety of domestic potatoes through contract farming, and is working hard with farmers to promote the diversity of seeds and create sustainable agriculture. The company’s representative product is ‘potato bread’ made with potatoes received from farmers in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do. The potato bread is made entirely from domestic potatoes sourced through contract farming, and is made without flour, but using tapioca starch and rice flour for a chewier crust. Unlike other products that use cheap potato powders, this one has the full flavor of the potato, not just the nutritional value, and you can choose from a variety of flavors, including cheese, garlic, curry, seeds, and more. In particular, the Chodang corn bread introduced by Batt is made with gluten-free tapioca starch and is chewy. It is characterized by its crispy outer skin as it is baked at high temperature in a short period of time. It contains plenty of sweet and soft cream cheese and domestic corn kernels, and gardenia powder was added instead of coloring to express the yellow color unique to corn. In addition, it is even more savory because the outside is coated with coarsely ground domestic corn flour and then baked.

‘Chuncheon Potato Field’ cafe offers a variety of agricultural products.

Selected as the first export project for domestic companies in 2023.

Batt Agricultural Corporation CEO Miso Lee wanted to transform parents’ potato farming into a sustainable one. The potatoes parents grew were of various colors: red, yellow, and blue. Rather than round potatoes, there were many potatoes that looked like ginger or sweet potatoes, and potato bread was developed to keep these potatoes in the market. ‘Chuncheon Potato Field’, a bakery café specializing in potato bread run by Lee, is a café that serves desserts and drinks made with fresh ingredients. In addition, Lee is achieving sustainable development by emphasizing ‘diversity’ by developing various products through ‘The Field’, a ‘farmer’s laboratory’ where resourceful farmers constantly realize their imaginations with various crops. Professor Lim Young-seok of the Department of Life and Health Engineering, College of Biomedical Science, Kangwon National University, developed the world’s first ‘method for manufacturing beverages using starch-containing crops’ in September 2023 and obtained a patent.

Batt signed a business agreement with the Kangwon National University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation to use this to promote the development and commercialization of various potato processing products. Lee is also paying attention to the hygiene of employees who manufacture products by introducing hand plates within the production line. The company is continuing its success, recording sales of over 7.4 million units last year and attracting approximately 700,000 people to its cafe Chuncheon Potato Field. Batt was selected as the first export project for domestic companies in 2023 conducted by the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Economic Promotion Agency, and based on this, it plans to advance not only in the domestic market but also in overseas markets.