ABC Study Tour 2026: Exploring Poland’s Agricultural and Food Processing Industries

This year’s study trip saw over 45 professionals from Brown&Co’s Agricultural Business Consultancy (ABC) Division travel to Gdańsk. The group ranged from graduates to experienced Partners and provided a valuable insight into Poland’s agricultural industry, food-processing sector and wider economic development.

The first day began by heading west to the town of Lębork where the team were met by Jarosław Wańkowicz, the Director of Raw Materials Management at Farm Frites in Poland. Jarosław delivered a presentation on the company’s potato processing operations and supply chain before leading an insightful discussion on the challenges and opportunities facing the sector.

Farm Frites is a global potato processing company specialising in the production of frozen French fries alongside other products such as potato pancakes and potato flakes. It currently operates across five manufacturing plants which supply their products to over one hundred countries.

The manufacturing plant in Lębork has experienced rapid growth over recent years and now processes over 250,000 tonnes of potatoes annually, with over 50% being supplied to McDonald’s.

The team then visited Farmstar, an 830ha arable farm with a focus on producing seed potatoes. The farm manager, Eliza Potorska, gave the team a farm tour whilst leading great discussions around Polish agriculture and the challenges faced when farming in northern Poland. One of which being seasonal temperature variations of -30°C to 40°C!

The afternoon provided a valuable insight and comparison between agriculture in the UK and Poland, particularly in terms of government support.

During the second day, the team split into two groups. The first group went to visit Malteurop, who are the third largest producer of malt globally. Here they were given a tour of the factory situated in the port of Gdańsk. The team learnt about the entire production process from grain sampling, cleaning, steeping, germination, kiln drying, and finally, distribution.

The second group visited Malbork Castle, the largest castle complex in the world by land area. This provided an opportunity to appreciate the historic and cultural heritage of the region dating back to the 13th century.

Beyond the visits and discussions, the trip provided another valuable opportunity for colleagues from across the business to exchange knowledge, share experiences and strengthen professional relationships.

Alongside this, it was great to see the recent graduate cohort building new connections and engaging with colleagues from different offices and disciplines. These opportunities for collaboration and knowledge sharing remain an important part of professional development across Brown&Co, helping to strengthen expertise across the firm.