July/August 2020 - 13

POTATO CHIPS
TRENDS
January, February, March of next year
we're going to be running short of
predominantly russet-type potatoes
for french fries, and a decent chance
even chip potatoes, if they continue to
sell the way they're selling. "
Demand
Phil Gusmano, vice president of
purchasing for Detroit-based Better
Made Snack Foods, said that because
the crop was already in when COVID
struck, Better Made was able to
source enough chipping potatoes to
get through. The company buys from
Michigan growers for approximately 11
months out of the year, moving south to
North Carolina, Missouri and Indiana
to fill in the gaps.
In addition, he says, the surge in sales
of larger bags at retail was balanced by
a decrease in convenience and party
store sales of snack-size bags.
" It still hasn't ended, " Gusmano said
in late June. " We're still muddling
through it. The volume has kind of
stayed the same - it's just shifted from
smaller bags to larger bags.
" So, if we were selling 100 pounds last
March, we're still selling 100 pounds,
but the product makeup that gets us to
that 100 pounds is larger bags. "
Jake Lake is in charge of potato
procurement for the Campbell Soup
Company's potato chip brands (Kettle,
Cape Cod, Jay's and Krunchers among
them) and soups. That's, as he puts it,
" a lot of potatoes. "
Campbell's experienced " unprecedented
broad-based demand " across its brands,
according to the company's June 2020
third-quarter report. Net sales in the
snack category, which includes chips
as well as other items like popcorn,
pretzels and sandwich crackers, were
up 12% - driven primarily by volume
gains reflecting higher demand due to
at-home consumption.
Lake says the onset of the COVID-19
crisis coincided with what is normally
the beginning of Campbell's busiest
time of year for chip production at
its eight processing facilities across
the U.S.
" I don't feel like we've really been
affected as acutely in terms of sourcing
PRODUCE PROCESS ING
13
on the chip side of the business, " he
says. " Generally speaking, production
really starts ramping up prior to the
summer months when chip consumption
generally peaks, so we were already
contracted and planning to handle
full-capacity production schedules at
all of our chipping facilities. "
In fact, he says soaring soup sales -
Campbell's saw a 35% increase in the
U.S. in the third quarter - prompted
the need for off-contract potato
purchases to fulfill that need. But he
says the company, which tends to use
white potatoes for both chips and soups,
was able to source enough chipping
potatoes for its chips.
And he expects to stay the course.
" We are fully planning on the COVID
crisis to be continuing and we expect
it to affect how consumers behave and
their consumptive habits, " Lake said.
" Because the majority of our brand
portfolio is consumed at home ... we're
preparing and are prepared to meet
that increased demand. "
July/August 2020

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