Frozen Potato Brands Ramp Up NPD

NPD

Frozen potato brands are increasing their new product development: as part of this greater focus upon provenance, market leader Lamb Weston launched a new range of frozen potato products under the tagline ‘Grown in Idaho.’ The new range included varieties such as Super Crispy, Steak Cut Fries, Hand Cut Style Fries, Super Crispy Crinkle Cut Fries, Crispy Potato Puffs and Thick Cut Hash Browns. More innovations are expected from Lamb Weston in the coming years, given that it has created a new NPD center at Richland, Washington, through which it hopes to increase awareness of its brand.

The market continues to witness the arrival of more products containing a rustic look or feel. In May 2017, McCain’s Australian range was extended with Rustic skin-on chips, which were launched in Thin and Chunky varieties and cater towards the growing demand for ‘homemade’ products made with only natural ingredients. The same company has recently brought out Bistro Style Fries in Germany, one variety of which has a rustic style. A similar launch from Agrarfrost was Skin-On French Fries, which are also promoted as being made from natural ingredients.

Manufacturers of frozen potato products continue to experiment with new and novel flavors and textures, in a bid to stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace. One particularly noteworthy example was the recent launch of a Pudina Chatka variety of the Smiles brand by McCain’s Indian business unit. This gave a tangy local flavor to the popular children’s product. A more common flavor extension from the same company was Superfries Rosemary & Garlic, which was launched earlier in 2017 in Canada. Elsewhere, recent activity from Agrarfrost’s has included the launch of Black Pepper Waves, crinkle-cut frozen potatoes with a wave structure for added crispiness and a salt and black pepper coating.

Meanwhile, frozen potato products featuring cheese as an ingredient have also appeared. As an example, Kraft Heinz’s Ore-Ida range was recently extended in the US with Four Cheese Mashed Potato Bites, which blended mashed potatoes with Cheddar, mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano cheese. In the UK foodservice market, Aviko launched a new range of Gastro Gratin premium potato side dishes during the summer of 2017, featuring Godminster Mature Cheddar cheese as an ingredient.