Earlier this year, the 13-member Agro Team at Orion’s potato research lab celebrated a significant breakthrough. After a decade of research, they developed a new potato variety named “Jeonggam.” The achievement came after testing 450 potato genes in 500,000 combinations to find the optimal blend. Jeonggam potatoes will be used in the South Korean snack and confectionery maker’s snacks Pocachip and Swingchip, marking the first update in potato chip ingredients since the “Dubaek” variety first introduced in 2000.
Orion’s focus on developing a new potato variety was driven by climate change. Extreme heat and unusual weather patterns caused domestic potato production to drop sharply from 690,000 tons in 2019 to 480,000 tons in 2022. Orion had developed a high-starch, crispy potato variety in Gangwon Province to compete with rival products, but climate change necessitated an improvement in both yield and taste.
Climate change impacts extend beyond potatoes to crops like coffee, peanuts, and ginseng. Unpredictable weather affecting yield and taste has prompted the food industry and agricultural research institutions to prioritize the development of climate-resistant varieties.
Among global food companies, only three develop their own potato varieties: Orion in South Korea, PepsiCo in the United States, and Calbee in Japan. PepsiCo, known for Lay’s potato chips, grows potatoes in Vietnam’s Da Lat region due to low labor costs. However, cultivation is limited to the dry season in highland areas. As extreme heat intensifies in Southeast Asia, PepsiCo has introduced new potato varieties, FL2215 and FL2027, capable of thriving in tropical conditions.
Major coffee producers like Brazil and Vietnam face severe droughts and heatwaves, increasing the prevalence of coffee leaf rust, which is worsened by rising temperatures. The United Kingdom-based charity Christian Aid predicts a 1.5-degree Celsius temperature rise could halve the global coffee-growing area by 2100.
In October last year, Starbucks developed six new Arabica coffee varieties that are resistant to coffee leaf rust. While traditional Arabica varieties are favored for their low acidity, they are vulnerable to rising temperatures. Starbucks has distributed seedlings of these new varieties to managed coffee farms and major partners.
Crop seeds naturally degrade over generations, reducing yield and quality. For instance, South Korea’s Udo peanuts struggled to thrive with slight temperature changes over 30 years. The Rural Development Administration developed the “Udo Olle-1″ peanut variety to address this problem, proving 15% more productive and resilient to temperature fluctuations and pests in trials.
Adaptability has become the primary goal in developing new crop varieties in the food industry. “Until now, the Rural Development Administration has led the development of varieties based on consumer preferences,” said Professor Kwon Sung-ku of Dongguk University’s Department of Food Industrial Management. “However, with the climate crisis increasingly tangible, companies and national institutions are actively developing new varieties and strategies to respond.”
