Spudman March 2023 - 38

Potatoes: A profitable and popular
menu item for restaurants
Potatoes are
an essential part
of the restaurant
landscape.
A recent study
POTATOES USA
Jane Foreman
Food Service Manager
of 1,500 patrons
(consumers who eat
out at restaurants)
uncovered the potato
dishes diners love to
order, potato dishes
they choose to swap
in place of other
options presented
to them, and their overall expectations
regarding potatoes at restaurants.
Interestingly, 53% of consumers are
willing to pay $5.20 more for a main
dish with potatoes than without them,
regardless of how they are served. The
amount they are willing to pay increases
as the restaurant's quality increases.
This is excellent news for the potato and
foodservice industries because it increases
the demand for potatoes and helps an
establishment's bottom line.
Another great point for restaurant
managers is that potatoes are such a
staple that patrons are disappointed
when menus do not include potatoes.
Over half of the patrons surveyed (60%)
expect to see potatoes on menus. This
expectation is higher in casual dining
(e.g., Applebee's, Outback Steakhouse)
and midscale restaurants (e.g., Huddle
House, Cracker Barrel) than in fast
food restaurants (e.g., McDonald's,
Wendy's), primarily due to more expansive
menu offerings.
INDUSTRY NEWS
WILBUR-ELLIS LAUNCHES SECOND ANNUAL INNOVATION AWARD FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS
The program invites student teams
Students can learn more about the
from colleges and universities in the
U.S. and Canada to propose innovative
approaches for providing food for more
people. The best idea will win a $25,000
grand prize, and up to four $5,000
honorable mention awards may also be
presented in 2023.
38
Spudman * March 2023
award on the Wilbur-Ellis Innovation Award
website. The Innovation Award website
provides e-cards that can be sent to
students who might like to participate, as
well as a video featuring last year's winners
and summaries of their submissions.
Because the Innovation Award is for student
teams, it also promotes collaboration.
Student teams can register now to
participate in the 2023 Wilbur-Ellis
Innovation Award by visiting the website at
www.wilburellis.com/innovation-award/.
Teams that register by March 31 will
have an extra 10 points added to their
submission's final score.
The key motivators driving consumers to
order potatoes are largely their taste, followed
by being satisfying, flavorful and satiating.
The number-one dish ordered by those
surveyed is fries, with 82% of consumers
reporting they order them at least
occasionally, followed by mashed potatoes
and hash browns. With diners' appetite for
potatoes, it makes sense that fries show
up on 72% of U.S. menus, which is a 3%
increase over the past four years, according
to Datassential's potato menu trends report.
Chefs are keeping their kitchens stocked
with fry supplies, too. Technomic, another
foodservice research company, shows that
frozen fry sales to the foodservice industry
increased by 369 million pounds from
July to June compared to the prior year.
The ways to incorporate fries on menus
are vast; keeping tabs on where growth
is projected is important. Loaded fries
continue to grow in popularity, increasing
37% on menus over the past four years,
and are on a trajectory to increase by
15% in the future.
When swapping dishes, salads are the
No. 1 item that consumers replace with
potatoes when given a choice. The potato
industry's efforts to provide education
about potato nutrition are helping create
a positive perception so that consumers
see potatoes as a lighter fare option when
making meal choices at restaurants.
The industry can also work with chefs to
encourage them to offer potato dishes
prepared in healthier ways, such as roasted
or grilled, to decrease the chance of potato
dishes being replaced with another item
due to perception.
Potatoes allow restaurants to use terms
like gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan
to describe menu items - words that
diners are looking for when searching for
options that meet specific eating patterns.
Restaurants can leverage these terms
to encourage people seeking mindfully
prepared meals away from home to order
potato dishes.
For more details, scan the QR code to
review and download a one-page recap of
the patron study. These insights are useful
when meeting with foodservice industry
representatives and explaining the benefits
of adding more potato dishes to their
menus. For additional information on the
Patron Study and other information, reach
out to Foodservice@PotatoesUSA.com.
http://www.wilburellis.com/innovation-award/
Spudman March 2023

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