b"Do You Want Fries With That?Taking a bite out of the trends in the Canadian foodservice industry. BY: KRISTI COXPEOPLE LOVE FRENCH FRIES, andCoffee and soft drinks are legacy menu we have the statistics to prove it. Will thatcategories. They havent changed much over hold up over time? What other food itemstime, and theyre being pushed down as new are elbowing their way in? Is there room forbeverages start pushing their way in for a potatoes in other menu categories? Vincepiece of the market.Sgabellone, Foodservice Industry AnalystAre potatoes immune? Maybe not. at Circana provides a dose of reassurance,Sgabellone turned his focus to the older caution and encouragement to those in therepresentatives of Gen-Z, aged 19-27. This potato industry.demographic is statistically the least likely to In Canadian foodservice, french fries areorder fries, but even more than that, they are the most consumed food menu item with 1.2looking for very specific niche items. billion servings every year. The servings grewTheyre looking for things like high by nine per cent in 2023 and represented 72protein, said Sgabellone. They're looking per cent of all potatoes served. for plant-based menu items. They're looking But growing even faster are the uniquefor organic. While its still a niche, these are fries. There was a 22 per cent increase inemerging trends to keep an eye on in the curly fries, waffle fries, and wedge potatocoming years.servings.Veggie-forward meals including stir fries,Vince Sgabellone, Foodservice Industry People are looking for things that aresalads, and veggie burgers were up 13 perAnalyst at Circanadifferent, explained Sgabellone. They arecent. Typical host foods for french fries a small subset of the whole fry universe, butsuch as sandwiches and burgers, were only they are growing faster than the traditionalup by six per cent or poke bowls. Many are focused in South cut fry. This means theres room forSo, theres more demand for plantAsian or Mediterranean cuisine. innovation, even in a mature menu categorybased, said Sgabellone. Is there room toNone of them have potatoes, said like french fries, and consumers will respondinsert potatoes into that discussion? RightSgabellone. Theyre all largely grain-based well to those new things. now, plant-based seems to be about bean- or vegetable-based. The plants in them are Menu toppers cant get complacent,based, or the pulses, or grain-based. But younot potatoes.though. Brewed coffee is the most populardon't see a lot of potato forward plant-basedFries may hold on to their number menu item, topping french fries, but coffee ismenu items. one spot, but there is a chance that these not increasing in servings.Just a few weeks after the conference,emerging categories will take a piece of their During the pandemic people weren'tA&W launched a potato patty burger.market share. leaving the house, Sgabellone explained.Thats the sort of thing Im thinkingIts important for the incumbents and They werent going out for coffee. It'sabout, Sgabellone said. How do youthe people who depend on those markets to recovered somewhat, but it's still on ainsert potatoes into these new emergingmake sure that they keep up with the times, downward trend trajectory. Why? Becausetrends? How do you be new and differentSgabellone said. Youve got to continue to specialty coffees are taking over. Hotand exciting? As popular as french fries are,evolve, stay fresh and relevant.specialty, cold specialty, other types oftheyre not necessarily going to be that fastVince Sgabellone provided 2023 statistics beverages that are not coffee are taking over. growth item forever. sourced from Circana, CREST.Sgabellone Soft drinks, the number three menu itemAn emerging trend right now is bowlspresented on this same topic at this years after french fries, are also in decline. grain bowls, salad bowls, burrito bowlsManitoba Potato Production Days. 40SPUDSMART.COMSpring 2024"