A no-frills, no-nonsense daily account of breaking global potato news stories
UK based potato grower, Fairfields Farm in Essex, recently announced that it will be supplying HelloFresh with its low carbon footprint potatoes from October. HelloFresh is the leading global meal kit player, operating in 14 countries, it has delivered 149 million meals worldwide in Q2 2020 alone. Fairfields Farm will be supplying HelloFresh in the UK with fresh potatoes from its family farm in Colchester, Essex, and helping the recipe box delivery service in its quest to become carbon neutral.
Following the announcement of McCain Foods US partnership with the No Kid Hungry organization, the company says on its LinkedIn channel that it is delighted to share that its financial donation will provide the equivalent of 750,000 meals. This donation is part of the No Kid Hungry ’s coronavirus response and recovery efforts that will help provide children with the most important school supply: Food.
Record potato sales continued at retail from July through September 2020, according to a news release issued by Potatoes USA. Total store potato sales are said to have increased by 13.6% in dollar sales and 10.6% in volume sales, compared to the same time frame in 2019. These sales levels are also the highest they have been for the past five years. Frozen potatoes showed the greatest increase compared to a year ago, with a dollar sales increase of 23.9% and a 19.7% increase in volume sales. The only category that declined compared to a year ago is deli-prepared sides.
BOULDER CANYON® brings adventurous, flavorful snack food innovation to those seeking a better-for-you experience with their new Thin & Crispy potato chips. BOULDER CANYON continues its impressive track record of providing simple and healthier snack foods options. BOULDER CANYON has risen to be a fast-growing salty snack brand with the number one potato chip SKU in the natural channel, BOULDER CANYON Avocado Oil Sea Salt Potato Chip.
According to the latest potato market report by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), liftings continue this week in Ireland following a reasonably dry few days. There are continued reports that yields are below average especially in areas that were affected by drought earlier in the year. As it stands, IFA says that growers supplying the food service sector have had one of the worst years on record. Trade for Kerr Pinks is holding steady and quality is reported as very good.
Potatoes are a widely-loved vegetable. Baked, mashed, fried or chipped, they are a tasty treat. But they aren’t perfect. Potatoes present a big challenge for the plant breeders who work on the crop, trying to develop new varieties that are more savory, sustainable, storable or growable. “Potato is the world’s leading vegetable crop, but it hasn’t realized the genetic gains needed to keep pace with industry and consumer demands,” says Jeff Endelman, UW–Madison associate professor in the horticulture department.
Following an extraordinary few months for the industry, join the AHDB Retail & Consumer Insight team during a series of webinars, focused on reviewing how the market and consumers have changed during the coronavirus pandemic, and what opportunities and threats this now presents for AHDB sectors. Grace Randall joins Kim Malley for this webinar focused on potatoes, discussing how purchasing and consumption has been impacted by coronavirus, pulling out the opportunities and threats for the category in the future.
Potatoes’ versatility and health benefits have been highlighted during a three-month lockdown marketing campaign by AHDB, reports News Journalist Kelly Henaughen for The Scottish Farmer. From May to July, the levy-funded body brought back its Bud the Spud character to encourage consumers to rethink the way they saw potatoes in a continuation of the ‘More Than a Bit on the Side’ campaign.
Ada, husband Martin and their twins Gemma and Mark have spent this strangest of summers taking part in An Empty Gunny Bag Cannot Stand, an ingenious food-growing project dreamt up by Angus Farquhar and Rudy Kanhye of Aproxima Arts. It culminated in a fantastic harvest event, featuring music and performance by Mischief-La-Bas, and free chips. Ada Stewart adds: “This project has been a light of sunshine in months of uncertainty. The team’s determination and hard work to make this happen is a great inspiration for us and the kids.
This Friday, October 2nd, marks a very special day in Ireland. National Potato Day was created to celebrate one of the Emerald Isle’s most popular foods, writes Jack Beresford for the The Irish Post. He says it’s a chance to “indulge in one of the most versatile vegetables on the dinner plate, whether baked, fried or sautéed.” National Potato Day is the brainchild of Bord Bia, who were eager to celebrate the humble spud with a selection of recipes shared on social media, shared under the hashtag, #NationalPotatoDay campaign.
Forgot how long it takes to bake a potato or if spuds should be stored in the refrigerator? Answers to these questions and hundreds more can easily be found at Dr. Potato on the Idaho Potato Commission’s (IPC) website. “Dr. Potato was born because we were receiving hundreds of questions about potatoes from consumers and foodservice operators. Since many of the questions were recurring, we thought it would be most efficient to post them online so folks could access them immediately and at any time of day,” explained Frank Muir, President & CEO, IPC.
Fresh potato sales increased significantly from July 2019 through June 2020, and so did the number of households buying potatoes, according to a news release issued by Potatoes USA. The organization says eighty-eight percent of households purchased potatoes on an average of 10 times during the 52-week period. This was a significant increase for fresh potatoes, which are already a staple item in households. During 2019, consumers purchased fresh potatoes, on average, seven times in 83% of households. Potatoes continued to be bought most often with bread, milk, eggs, onions, and other staple household items.
Aldi Ireland has announced that it is currently trialling 100% home compostable bags across its 1kg Irish Rooster Potato range, according to a report by Checkout. Aldi said that it has been working with two of its Irish suppliers; Keogh’s Potatoes and Iverk Produce over the past year to introduce the new eco-friendly packaging across all its 143 Irish stores.
Covid-19 has driven dramatic revival in potato sales, with Branston’s James Truscott confident category can continue to prosper in longer term. The managing director of one of Britain’s leading potato suppliers has tipped the sales boost for potatoes to outlast coronavirus lockdown measures thanks to what he hopes are lasting changes to people’s cooking habits, according to a report by Fred Searle for Fruitnet.
Between May and July this year AHDB’s marketing team ran a successful campaign which aimed to keep potatoes relevant to consumers while educating them about their versatility, ease of use and health benefits, the organization says in a recent news article. In response to the market dynamics created by COVID-19, AHDB says there was a need to create additional demand in retail and drive volume in sales to attempt to make up for some of the losses through foodservice. Bud the Spud’ was part of a marketing campaign (More Than a Bit on the Side) with proven positive results.
Potato consumption has remained resilient in Britain over the past six months, despite closures in the foodservice market, according to figures released by AHDB. Strong retail sales led to an overall 12% volume increase for potatoes in the six months to 9 August, according to AHDB estimates based on Kantar data. Over the 24 weeks ending (w/e) 9 August, retail sales volumes of potatoes and potato products rose well ahead of the total food and non-alcoholic drink uplift. The return of big fast food brands in June helped lift takeaway volumes of potatoes.
“Whether you call them French fries, pommes frites, or chips, the fried potato is one of the most elusive of foods to get right, though countless entities try and most fail on a nearly daily basis,” writes David Todd McCarty in this delightful article published in The Standard. “The fact they they appear so simple, yet seem to be so difficult to master, may be one of the reasons we are so drawn to them,” McCarty figures. “They are a bit like good summer corn, random sex, or a perfect golf shot…
If you’re a British farmer looking to engage with your local school, AHDB says it is ready to help. In a recent news release, AHDB says it provides tools and resources that help farmers educate schoolchildren about farming and where food comes from. There are five different ways farmers can help children learn more about farming.
As the ‘no travel’ trend continues into the holidays, Side Delights offers easy solutions for consumers choosing to stay home or close to home this holiday season. In a recent study, 58% of consumers are not planning to travel for the holiday season—up from 49% last year. In August, data showed that winter holiday bookings were 65.4% behind where they were around a similar time period in 2019.
While shoppers’ smiles are currently hidden behind their masks, they’ll soon spot plenty of friendly faces in the snack aisle thanks to Lay’s, which is converting millions of potato chip bags to feature the real smiles of 30 “ordinary” people doing extraordinary things in their communities. During a time when joy is needed more than ever, the new Lay’s bags continue the brand’s mission to inspire even more smiles in 2020, with up to $1 million in proceeds benefitting Operation Smile.
Britain’s legions of ‘grow your own’ gardeners are being urged to ensure their soil is safe before they consume their hard-earned harvest. The UK’s love affair with gardening has flourished amid lockdown as more people took up the hobby and began to grow their own fruit and vegetables. But a firm set up to test domestic soil quality has urged caution before garden enthusiasts enjoy their first crops. A spokesman for SafeSoil UK said in a recent press release: “With the UK’s proud industrial heritage the reality is that many of the plots of land that gardeners are using to grow their crops have a back-story that can mean contamination in the soil.
Isle of Ely Produce have created a chip ambassador scheme, consisting of shop owners and fryers who will promote best practice for potato buying, storing and frying, reports Daniel Mason for Elystandard. The Ely company aims to continue the work it has done through their open days and the ‘field to frier’ award it sponsors at the national fish and chip awards. As part of the scheme, chip ambassadors will be used to sample new varieties that come into the market brought by potato distributor Agrico and Isle of Ely, such as Babylon and Lugano.
Feel free to get in touch with me, folks!
[email protected]
[email protected]
Connect with me on LinkedIn
Follow us on Twitter
About Potato News Today
