Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1438839
The pandemic had an unprecedented impact on restaurants and the foodservice industry. Restaurant decisions over the past year-plus have been driven by external pressures and survival strategies, and while every industry is facing issues in the "new normal," virtually everything that touches a restaurant has required adaptation to move past the pandemic. Today, food is more expensive to produce, manufacture, transport, menu and buy, and the availability and cost of labor magnifies these problems. Away- from-home food has the highest rate of inflation, and restaurants already have notoriously low margins and make even less with fewer customers. Costs are adding up, whether from third- party takeout apps, delivery, packaging, transportation, or new safety restrictions, and these costs can't always be passed along to consumers. Supply chain disruptions are rampant, not only for products themselves, but also for packaging, pallets, and new procedures. Operators across all segments report seeing price increases in almost all product categories over the last three months; 11% report experiencing a "big price increase" in fresh vegetables alone (35% report no change). About a quarter of respondents Making a Full Recovery Like other sectors of food supply chain, the potato industry was seriously impacted by COVID-19 and restrictions on foodservice establishments. Now, nearly two years following the initial shutdowns, the nation continues to see the foodservice sector sputter as it works to come back. By John Toaspern, Potatoes USA & Marie Molde, Datassential report experiencing a shortage of fresh vegetables in the past three months, in which case they are finding new suppliers, substituting other ingredients, or simply dropping these items from their menus. More than two-thirds of operators expect the situation around prices to only get worse as they look at the data through the end of 2021, and many are looking at totally new offerings. For potatoes, this serves as an opportunity to ensure supply and provide menu inspiration to operator partners. Sales of potatoes and potato products to the foodservice sector suffered from the declines in foodservice sales, but at a level that was less than that of total declines. For the July 2020 to June 2021 marketing year, the volume of potato sales to foodservice declined 7.1%; the value of sales increased slightly due to increases 24 POTATO GROWER | JANUARY 2022