Spudman January 2023 - 46

The wait is over: Foodservice sales
near pre-pandemic levels
Foodservice
POTATOES USA
Kim Breshears
Chief Marketing
Officer
is back! In fact,
total sales in
the foodservice
sector have nearly
rebounded to prepandemic
levels and
are expected to grow
5.5% in 2023. There
is no denying that
some of this growth
is due to higher
menu prices and
inflation, but it's also
driven by consumer demand.
Through it all, potatoes maintained a
place of prominence on menus across the
U.S. According to Datassential, potatoes
are one of the most consistently menued
items, showing up on 83% of menus
nationwide, while the incidences have
increased by 5%. Incidences is just a fancy
word for the number of dishes on a menu
that contain potatoes. This is impressive!
Despite the turmoil restaurants have
experienced during the pandemic,
potatoes have grown in importance. Just
one more indicator of how much the
humble spud is beloved.
Potatoes are especially common at
American, BBQ and burger restaurants,
where over 95% of restaurants use
potatoes in one or more menu items,
according to Datassential. They are
typically used as a side dish or an
accompaniment to a protein, although
this is changing. The plant-based
movement has catapulted potatoes into
being a main component in dishes like
tacos and curry.
Most potato dishes are loved by older
generations, especially classic potato
dishes like roasted potatoes and potato
pancakes. Younger generations gravitate
to delicious fry dishes, like loaded fries
and cheese fries.
Speaking of fries, this category has seen
explosive growth, particularly fries that
showcase ingredients and flavors from
different cuisines. Thicker-cut fries that
can hold multiple ingredients - like wedge
fries, waffle fries and curly fries - have
also grown significantly on menus.
Potatoes are becoming more common
outside of American cuisine restaurants
in the United States. Korean, Chinese,
Thai and African cuisines have the fastestgrowing
potato appearances on their
menus, while many ingredients common
in these cuisines, such as peanuts and
ginger, are being paired with potatoes.
Another study by Technomics Inc.
confirms the importance and growth of
potato sales in the foodservice sector.
Data from July 2021-June 2022 shows
that the volume of potatoes sold to
foodservice increased by 12%, and the
value of those potato sales increased
by 26%. Value in this example refers to
the amount foodservice operators paid
suppliers for the product. Interestingly,
refrigerated, dehydrated and fresh
potatoes showed the strongest growth of
25%, 19% and 18%, respectively. Frozen
potato sales grew at the slowest rate
of 9%, yet it was the potato format that
was less impacted by the pandemic. It
is currently the product closest to prepandemic
volumes compared to all other
product categories. It's worth noting
breakfast potatoes are exhibiting a
strong comeback.
We at Potatoes USA expect foodservice
to continue to thrive despite ongoing labor,
inflation and supply chain challenges.
Yet we continue to expect foodservice
operators to focus on smaller, more
manageable menus and less complex
dishes that require a lot of highly skilled
labor. The versatility of ingredients is key,
working across the menu in many dayparts
and menu items. This all bodes well for
the potato industry, as we have a variety
of formats that work across the menu
at various price points. And foodservice
operators know one thing: Americans love
potatoes, and what sells gets on - and
stays on - their menus.
46
Spudman * January 2023
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Spudman January 2023

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