BusinessPotatoes and the Food Service Industry

Potatoes and the Food Service Industry

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In January, I had the pleasure of attending Manitoba Potato Production Days, the annual three-day conference and trade show held in Brandon, Man. I was treated to some stimulating presentations, got the low-down on the latest potato farming products and equipment for this coming growing season, and best of all, had some great conversations with growers. They were out in record numbers this year, and I’m sure a lot of that had to do with the stellar slate of speakers, which included Ian MacRae, Pam Hutchinson, Tracy Shinners-Carnelley, Andrew Ronald, Troy Peters, Jeff Bronsch, Gary Secor, Steve Johnson, Amanda Gevens and Vikram Bischt.

Spud Smart interviewed a number of the presenters, including keynote speaker Shimona Mehta, director of food service at the NPD Group, a global market research and consumer insights company that tracks everything from technology to fashion products. According to Mehta, NPD is also the largest tracker of food service consumer insights in the world, which is why she was invited to Manitoba to talk to a packed house of potato producers.

Mehta spoke about consumer choices in food service, illuminating some of the macro factors that influence why and where Canadians are going out to eat these days and what kinds of food they are ordering. As you might expect, the discussion involved demographics — did you know that baby boomers and millennials (which NPD pegs at ages 18 to 34) are the two Canadian age cohorts who use food service the most? As Mehta puts it, if you know how to cater to these two groups, that’s an opportunity to move a lot of french fries.

Mehta also touched on the role of Canada’s swelling immigrant population in shaping food service trends. Many Asian immigrants, for example, often don’t include potatoes in their regular meals. “Rice tends to be the starch of choice, so understanding those consumers and how we get them to incorporate potatoes into their diet” is one of the challenges facing the Canadian potato industry, she says.

Another challenge relates to overall demand for food services. Mehta says while our country has been one of the few shining lights in the global food service industry since 2008, the market prognosis in Canada for 2014 and even heading into 2015 is flat. As a result, targeting consumers “the right way” is critical to food service growth, she explains, and these days convenience is king. A great indication of that is the exploding popularity of home replacement meals, things like roast chickens and potato wedges, which Mehta says is the fastest growing segment in Canada’s evolving food service market.

Along with convenience, factors like healthier food options are also driving consumer choices in today’s food service industry in Canada. But the number 1 driver according to NPD’s market research may surprise you, and it’s certainly great news for folks across the Canadian potato industry. “When we look at it, year after year after year, consumers tell us that the number one factor in choosing the foods that they do, is taste. It’s got to taste good,” says Mehta. “French fries are the number 1 food in Canada served at food service and that’s because consumers love the taste of french fries.”

Canada’s potato growers can take heart in the fact that, by continuing to produce top-quality potatoes, they are helping fuel the nation’s appetite for french fries and other great tasting potato products.

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