McCain’s inaugural global ‘Spud Report’ finds fries crossing cultures, generations and borders

Survey of more than 12,000 adults in 11 countries examines how people eat, share and think about potatoes — while tracing every serving back to farms and growers

By Lukie Pieterse, Editor/Publisher of Potato News Today

French fries emerged as the favourite potato dish in every country included in a major new international consumer study commissioned and published by McCain Foods.

The company’s inaugural Spud Report, released on May 26, 2026, draws on an online survey of 12,079 adults in 11 countries. Developed by McCain in collaboration with Canadian research firm Pollara Strategic Insights, the report explores how people consume, share and respond to potatoes and fries in different cultural settings.

The countries surveyed were Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. Fieldwork was conducted between January 26 and February 15, 2026.

McCain released the report ahead of the United Nations’ International Day of Potato on May 30. The company deserves full credit for commissioning, compiling and publishing this unusually broad examination of the place occupied by potatoes — and particularly fries — in contemporary food culture.

Fries lead in all 11 surveyed countries

According to the McCain report, French fries ranked as the leading potato dish in every participating country, although the strength of that preference varied considerably.

Fries were selected by 49% of respondents in Argentina, 48% in Japan, 44% in Brazil, 42% in France and 41% in the Netherlands. They were also the leading choice in India at 36%, China at 31%, the United States and United Kingdom at 30% each, Canada at 27% and Australia at 22%.

The alternatives reflected distinct national and regional food traditions. Mashed potatoes placed second in the United States, Canada, France and the United Kingdom. Baked potatoes were the second choice in the Netherlands, while potato chips ranked second in Argentina, Australia, China, India and Japan.

China provided one of the report’s clearest examples of local food culture asserting itself: 14% of respondents selected stir-fried shredded potato, a familiar Chinese preparation, as their preferred potato dish. In Canada, poutine placed third at 12%.

The findings should not be interpreted as production or sales figures. They represent the stated preferences and reported behaviour of adults responding to McCain’s online survey. Nevertheless, the consistency of the first-place result across 11 markedly different markets points to the extraordinary international reach achieved by fries.

A food associated with comfort and shared experience

The report moves well beyond rankings of potato dishes. It investigates the emotions, habits and unwritten social rules that consumers associate with fries.

Globally, 78% of respondents said fries would improve their mood at the time they were surveyed. McCain reported that 55% associated fries with feeling happy, while 46% associated them with feeling relaxed.

These answers help explain why fries are frequently positioned as comfort food. They are also closely connected with social occasions: meals with family, restaurant visits, late-night eating and food shared among friends.

“Food has a unique way of connecting people, and fries are no exception,” said Charlie Angelakos, Vice President, External Affairs and Sustainability at McCain Foods.

The generational differences were particularly striking. According to the report, 89% of Gen Z respondents said fries would improve their mood, compared with 60% of Baby Boomers. Younger consumers were also more inclined to experiment with fries as part of unconventional food combinations.

At the same time, traditional meal patterns remain stronger among older respondents. Eighty-one per cent of Baby Boomers said they eat potato dishes with dinner, compared with 41% of Gen Z respondents.

Different countries, different occasions

McCain’s findings reveal significant differences in how fries fit into daily eating patterns.

More than half of respondents in India, at 54%, and almost half in China, at 49%, regarded fries as a snack. In the Netherlands, 41% identified fries as a dinner food or main event. The corresponding figure was only 7% in both Canada and the United States, where fries were more likely to be seen as an accompaniment.

India was the only surveyed country in which fries surpassed hash browns as a preferred breakfast potato format, according to the report. Fifty-one per cent of Indian respondents associated fries with breakfast, followed by 34% in the Netherlands, 33% in China and 32% in Argentina.

Late-night consumption also varied. McCain found that 84% of respondents in Argentina had eaten fries after 10 p.m., followed by 78% in the United States and 74% in India. Across the complete survey, 67% reported having eaten fries after 10 p.m.

Food combinations further demonstrated the differences between markets. Australia recorded the highest share of respondents who had dipped fries in ice cream, at 43%, followed by the United States at 40% and India at 37%.

The United States led milkshake dipping at 48%, while 38% of Indian respondents said they had dipped fries in chocolate — twice the global proportion of approximately 19%.

The unwritten rules of sharing fries

A substantial portion of the report is devoted to what McCain calls “fry etiquette”: the informal expectations that emerge when fries are shared.

Taking fries from another person’s plate without permission was the most widely disapproved-of behaviour in every surveyed country. More than three-quarters of respondents globally said they were annoyed when this happened.

Japan recorded the strongest reaction, with 82% objecting, followed closely by India at 81%. Yet reported behaviour did not always match the stated rules. Forty-nine per cent of Indian respondents admitted taking fries from someone else’s plate, compared with 38% in Canada and just 8% in Japan.

Parents proved to be particularly active fry takers. McCain reported that 56% of surveyed parents admitted taking fries from their children without being noticed. Mothers reported doing so more frequently than fathers — 61% compared with 51%.

The report also found that almost half of all respondents had spoken while they had fries in their mouth, while half had placed fries inside a sandwich.

Such findings may be light-hearted, but they reinforce the report’s central conclusion: fries are rarely experienced as a purely functional food. They are woven into relationships, family behaviour, social rituals and even small disagreements around the table.

Canada retains its own fry identity

Canada received special attention in the report, reflecting McCain’s origins in Florenceville, New Brunswick, where the company was founded in 1957.

Ketchup remained Canada’s favourite fry topping, selected by 63% of Canadian respondents. Regional preferences became more varied after that.

In the Prairie provinces, gravy was selected by 45% of respondents — the highest regional figure in Canada. In Atlantic Canada, gravy and salt were nearly level at 42% and 41%, respectively. Quebec respondents placed mayonnaise second at 30%, while gravy was selected by 17%, despite Quebec’s association with poutine.

Sixty-eight per cent of Canadians said double-dipping was unacceptable, although 44% admitted doing it. Meanwhile, 52% said it was important that a restaurant offer fries, and 67% of Canadian parents acknowledged taking fries from their children.

Behind the consumer data are potatoes and farmers

Although much of the report is deliberately playful, McCain closes it by returning attention to the agricultural system behind the finished product.

The company says it works with more than 4,400 farmers across six continents and supplies products to markets in more than 160 countries. It also describes itself as the producer of one in every four fries eaten worldwide.

Those company-reported figures illustrate the scale at which consumer preferences can influence potato production, processing capacity, variety requirements, storage, logistics and contracting relationships.

For the potato sector, the most important message may be that the crop’s appeal is not confined to one generation, country or eating occasion. Potatoes continue to function simultaneously as a familiar staple, restaurant side, snack, comfort food and adaptable platform for new flavours.

That interpretation should still be approached with appropriate caution. The study was commissioned by one of the world’s largest manufacturers of frozen potato products and concentrates heavily on fries. It is consumer-attitude research rather than an independent market forecast. However, its geographic scope and transparent reporting of sample sizes make it a valuable snapshot of potato-related behaviour across contrasting markets.

McCain links future demand to regenerative agriculture

McCain also uses the report to restate its commitment to implement regenerative agricultural practices across 100% of the acreage used to grow its potatoes by 2030.

The company reports that 69% of its global potato acreage had been “Onboarded” onto its Regenerative Agriculture Framework as of June 30, 2025. McCain’s separate 2025 sustainability reporting states that 44% of its acreage was classified as “Engaged” or higher.

That distinction is important: being onboarded onto the framework is not necessarily the same as having reached the more advanced levels of regenerative practice defined by McCain.

The framework is organised around six principles: supporting farm resilience; increasing crop and ecosystem diversity; protecting soil with crop residues or living plants; minimising soil disturbance; reducing agrochemical impacts while optimising water use; and incorporating organic or livestock elements where appropriate.

McCain acknowledges that regenerative agriculture cannot be applied identically in every location. Practices must be adapted to local crops, climates, soils and farming systems, while the financial and operational risks of transition cannot simply be left to growers.

A global crop with a distinctly human story

The Spud Report is ultimately a company-produced portrait of how one familiar food moves through everyday life. Its tone is often humorous, but the underlying finding is serious: the potato continues to cross national, cultural and generational boundaries with unusual ease.

For growers and others in the potato value chain, every percentage in the report begins with a planted field and a farmer making decisions about soil, water, crop protection, storage and financial risk.

McCain’s study documents what happens at the other end of that chain — when the potato reaches a plate and becomes part of a meal, a family ritual, a moment of comfort or a minor argument over the last fry.