July/August 2020 - 4

THE PROCESS
ZEKE JENNINGS
Office 616-887-9008
Nowhere near
normal yet
More than halfway through 2020 - which will
go down as the year of COVID-19 in history - the
pandemic's progression is at different points
depending on where you might be in the world.
In the U.S., foodservice demand has inched
Zeke Jennings
Managing Editor
back since lockdowns went into place in
early March, although is still nowhere near
normal levels. Christine Wentworth, the VP of
agricultural procurement at McCain Foods - the
largest frozen fry maker in the world - told me
the company anticipates below-normal demand until some sort of
vaccine is in place and entertainment and sporting venues reopen
and restaurants get back to full capacity. The most optimistic
estimation of that is likely early in 2021.
On the flip side, retail food sales saw an initial boom when
COVID hit and have remained elevated ever since. That is true
for fresh, frozen and shelf-stable produce.
According to IRI, year-to-date retail produce sales in the U.S.
are up:
* 28.0% for frozen
* 27.2% for shelf stable
* 10.6% for fresh
Numbers have gradually slowed since the early-March peak,
but still are well above normal. The week ending July 5, numbers
were up 24.4% for frozen, 18.1% for shelf stable and 9.1% for fresh.
What folks are buying also has shifted the past four months.
In 2019, 84% of total produce sales came from the fresh segment,
10% from shelf stable and 6% from frozen. When COVID shutdowns
hit, which can be traced to the week ending March 15, that ratio
was 70% fresh; 19% shelf stable; 11% frozen.
All these numbers are reflected in our look at COVID's impact
on the potato chip industry on Page 10. Chips are the largest
segment of potato sales in retail and have remained so during
the pandemic. During the two-month period from mid-March to
mid-May, retail chip sales in the U.S. totaled $1.247 billion, a
23% increase from the same time frame last year.
What's all this mean? We're not as far away from normal as
we were three months ago, but we're still nowhere close to it.
Managing Editor Zeke Jennings, 616-520-2159
zjennings@greatamericanpublish.com
Advertising Andrea Schafer, 616-520-2139
prosales@produceprocessing.net
Editorial Director Tim Hodson, 616-520-2161
thodson@greatamericanpublish.com
Creative Director Kristina Howell, 616-520-2168
khowell@greatamericanpublish.com
Multimedia Designer Greg Ryan, 616-520-2145
proproduction@produceprocessing.net
Production Assistant Samantha Orsi, 616-520-2148
sorsi@greatamericanpublish.com
Group Marketing Melissa Gray, 616-520-2153
Director mgray@greatamericanpublish.com
Custom Content Jess Schmidt, 616-520-2141
Manager jschmidt@greatamericanpublish.com
Circulation Becky Stovall, 616-520-2138
circulation@produceprocessing.net
Billing Accounts Receivable, 616-520-2136
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Contributing Editors Gary Pullano, 616-520-2144
Stephen Kloosterman, 616-520-2152
COO & Director of Kimberly Baker, 616-520-2135
Custom Media kbaker@greatamericanpublish.com
CFO & Director of Deb Carnes, 616-520-2169
Human Resources dcarnes@greatamericanpublish.com
Vice President/ Gerry Bodgdon, 616-520-2150
Group Publisher gbogdon@greatamericanpublish.com
CEO Matt McCallum, 616-520-2133
publisher@produceprocessing.net
Editorial Advisory Board
Adrienne Seiling, American Frozen Food Institute
Rudi Groppe, Heinzen Manufacturing International
Lou Cooperhouse, Rutgers Food Innovation Center
Sherrie Rosenblatt, Can Manufacturers Institute
Leonard Batti, Taylor Farms, Salinas, California
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email Zeke:
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July/August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July/August 2020
