Checking what a 150 kg/h crisp line really means for a small producer
A small UK snack start-up asked for a complete potato crisp production and packing line; the capacity it needed meant far more machine than the low marketplace prices suggested.
What the buyer asked
The buyer wanted a complete line: washing and peeling, slicing, blanching, drying, frying, de-oiling, seasoning and a vertical packing machine.
After correcting an early typo, the target was 150 kg an hour of finished crisps, packed as 1,000 bags of 150 g an hour. The first budget, about £3,000, came from headline prices on Alibaba listings. They wanted the line as automatic as practical without being a large industrial plant, shipped by March 2027.
What we checked
- The specification table the buyer sent. It matched a semi-automatic small-scale line offered by several Chinese suppliers.
- Whether the kg/h figures in the listings meant raw potato going in or finished crisps coming out.
- Published yields for finished potato crisps.
- The electrical load and supply the listed machines needed.
- What a packing system for 150–200 g crisp bags with multihead weighing and nitrogen flushing would have to include.
What we found
- Finished crisps are only a fraction of the raw potato after peeling, water loss and frying. With published yields of roughly 25–36%, 150 kg/h of finished crisps needs roughly 420–600 kg/h of raw potato.
- Many listings say “150 kg/h” without saying whether that is input or output. Alibaba headline line prices cannot be read as that capacity, and the listed sets often leave out a proper weigher and bagger, food-contact specification, UK electrical set-up, freight and compliance.
- The listed processing machines alone drew about 47.9 kW, mostly at 380 V three-phase, before any packing system or auxiliary equipment.
- Packing speed was not the hard part: 1,000 bags an hour is about 17 a minute. But the listed line ended in a simple sealer, not an automatic weigher and form-fill-seal bagger.
- We proposed a hybrid route: the VFFS packer, multihead weigher and other technically important machines from China; bulky, simple items such as the fryer, blancher, sinks and worktables from UK suppliers. The buyer agreed with that split.
Status
Closed for now. The buyer found the full equipment route well above their current budget and is pursuing UK contract manufacturing instead; we pointed them to a UK crisp maker that takes private-label work. We would reopen the equipment search with a revised budget or specification.
What this means for other buyers
- Ask every supplier whether its capacity figure is raw input or finished output, and get the finished figure in writing.
- Price the whole line, including weighing, bagging, power supply, freight and compliance, before comparing it with listing prices.
- Consider splitting the order: technically demanding machines from China, bulky simple items from local suppliers.
Related pages
- Machinery sourcing and checks
- Sourcing food processing machinery from China
- Sourcing packaging machines from China
- Installing and commissioning Chinese machinery in the UK
- All project notes
Anonymised: we do not name the buyer, their business, the brands involved or the factories. Every fact comes from our own project file for this enquiry; nothing has been added.