New ingredients and formats, along with an emphasis on the ‘real’ and ‘rustic’, are some of the hallmarks of product innovation in the frozen potato category over the last two years, as the latest insights from Gama Compass™ reveal.
By Tom Warden, editorial director, Gama
Despite representing a relatively small fraction of NPD within the overall retail frozen food space – only 4% of total launches in the last two years, according to Gama Compass™ data – the frozen potato category nevertheless continues to exhibit a degree of dynamism and creativity when it comes to product innovation, with modern launches aligning to demand among consumers for more adventurous formats and flavors (most notably through the rise of sweet potato), ‘natural’ and ‘local’ ingredients, and more sophisticated and ‘gourmet’ offerings. The category also continues to benefit from its accessibility in terms of price, with Gama Compass™ data also showing that, globally, average price points in frozen potato products remain at less than half that of frozen foods as a whole, specifically when it comes to new product introductions in the category since 2014.
HITTING A SWEET SPOT
Innovation in the frozen potato space continues to be driven by a voracious appetite for new and more premium ingredients and flavors, and there is no better demonstration of this in recent times than the rise of one ‘star’ ingredient in particular – sweet potato. Remarkably, sweet potato featured in 16% of all frozen potato launches reported by Gama over the last two years, indicating the extent to which the distant cousin of the traditional white potato is fast entering the mainstream of the frozen potato category, most particularly within western European markets. As just one example, as recently as six months ago leading UK food firm William Jackson extended its established Aunt Bessie’s range to include sweet potato wedges alongside its more conventional potato offerings, later expanding the range to include sweet potato ‘jackets’ and, most recently, sweet potato chips.
Other firms that have been quick to seize on the opportunity offered by sweet potato products include Netherlands-based Aviko, launching sweet potato fries and sweet potato dice for the UK and Dutch markets, and Canadian firm McCain with the release of Sweet Potato Fries made with “real, simple ingredients”. The rise in the fortunes of the sweet potato has even given birth to specialist brands such as the Ireland-based Strong Roots, launched by start-up firm Handy Food Innovation. With a focus on being “simple tasty and delicious” the firm’s Strong Roots Oven Baked Sweet Potato boasts of being “healthy, nutritious and full of life”, as well as claiming to be low in saturated fat and salt and free from gluten.
CONVENIENCE AND SPECIALITY FORMATS
As the ‘sweet potato’ phenomenon ably demonstrates, the frozen potato category is witnessing a significant degree of diversification when it comes to new flavors and formats, such that conventional oven chips are no longer the overwhelming force in terms of new product development within the category as a whole. Indeed, as Gama Compass™ data reveals, traditional chips accounted for fewer than half of all new launches in frozen potato products over the last two years, as more diverse and modern formats jostle for position with traditional alternatives. In some cases – such as recent launches from UK supermarket chain Tesco including ready prepared Sweet Potato Chunks, and Mashed Potato that “cook[s] from frozen in 3.5 minutes” – the focus is undoubtedly on greater convenience through reduced preparation, but in other cases these new formats are more aimed at providing greater variety and sophistication through gourmet and premium offerings.
McCain, for instance – the standout firm when it comes to new product activity in the frozen potato space in the last two years – has introduced launches such as Prinzess Kartoffeln, a product for the German market that takes the form of “swirls” of seasoned potato and contains only 2.5% fat. McCain itself cites an increased interest in more ‘specialty’ potato products as a key factor in its decision to invest USD65m in its production capacity in Canada, noting that specialty products such as hash browns are the fastest-growing segment currently within the overall potato market.
