Spudman July/August 2023 - 26

Potatoes reign supreme
Americans select spuds as favorite vegetable for seventh straight year
Potatoes still
POTATOES USA
Kayla Vogel
Senior global
marketing manager,
consumer and retail
reign as America's
favorite vegetable
for the seventh year
in a row, according to
the 2023 Consumer
Attitudes & Usage
study conducted by
SRG on behalf of
Potatoes USA. Eight
in 10 Americans
report they eat
potatoes at least
once a week, up 3%
from the previous year.
Rounding out the top five favorite
vegetables were broccoli, corn, tomatoes
and salad mix.
Mashed potatoes topped the charts this
year as the style consumers had eaten
most recently, followed by fries, baked
potatoes, roasted potatoes and hash
browns, although fries continued to be
the most popular foodservice side. Of the
preparation styles, roasted potatoes -
sliced or diced - saw the biggest growth
from the previous year, rising four points.
HEALTHY ATTRIBUTES
In terms of health-related attributes,
the largest increases were seen in
consumers who believe potatoes provide
nutrients (4 points), are an excellent source
of vitamin C (5 points) and are good for
weight management (4 points).
Other noteworthy insights on consumer
behaviors include:
* Half of Americans report someone in
their household follows specific dietary
guidelines, most typically low-sugar, lowsodium
and low-carb diets.
* 83% of consumers say they tend to use
recipes for their food preparation, and
most seek them out using search engines,
recipe sites, YouTube and Facebook.
* While most Americans would describe
themselves as short-order cooks favoring
basic meals, a growing majority (61%)
prefers to cook with ingredients from
scratch as opposed to packaged or
prepared foods.
CONSUMER RESPONSES
This year's study indicates that consumers
primarily choose foods based on flavor,
value and freshness, which is consistent
with earlier studies. That said, consumers
are also looking for food that's convenient or
makes them excited about eating.
The study also asked respondents why
they don't eat potatoes more frequently. Most
consumers responded that they believe they
already eat enough potatoes, followed by
concerns that potatoes are high in carbs or
fattening or that they prefer other vegetables.
It's worth noting, however, that all these
barriers declined from the previous year.
When asked what would encourage them
to buy more potatoes, consumers cited lower
prices, smaller bag sizes to reduce food waste,
having recipe and meal ideas, and knowing
more nutritional information about potatoes.
Potatoes USA commissions the Consumer
Attitude & Usage study annually to help
assess Americans' potato consumption,
their perceptions about the vegetable and
their attitudes about foods in general. The
goal is to be able to share and apply insights
to help the potato industry better meet the
needs of its consumers.
For more information, email Media@
PotatoesUSA.com.
26
Spudman * July/August 2023
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Spudman July/August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Spudman July/August 2023
