Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1438839
WWW.POTATOGROWER.COM 25 1 Potato Sales to Foodservice Millions of Pounds 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 9,966 10,729 12,381 12,363 +0.1% -13.3% -7.1% Technomic Volumetric Report, 2021 -19% 2 Fresh Potato Sales to Foodservice Q3: July - September Million Pounds 0 250 500 750 1000 2019 2020 2021 Q3 956 608 783 Technomic Volumetric Report, 2021 in prices. Volume sales actually increased to limited-service restaurants as that sector saw full recovery during the year. Sales to full-service restaurants declined by 7%, led by a 24% drop to fine dining establishments. Sales to the beyond restaurant sector was down 25%, with travel, business and industry (B&I); colleges and universities (C&U); and K-12 schools impacted the most. From a product perspective, frozen sales suffered the least (only down 3.9%), with whole fresh down 10.1%. On the other end, refrigerated potato sales were down 21.7%, with chips off 18.7%, and dehy down 16.6%. All products saw growth in sales in the last quarter of the marketing year as the foodservice industry continued to recover. Datassential has been tracking consumer and foodservice operator sentiment throughout the pandemic. As of October 2021, 31% of consumers are still avoiding eating out, which is 2% higher than September 2021, and 11% higher than March 2020. A third of consumers say they are nervous but will still eat out, while 37% report having no concerns with dining out at restaurants. Looking to foodservice operators, according to data from August 2021, a slim majority (51%) of operators across all foodservice segments think they'll likely survive the ongoing COVID crisis, and renewed concerns are strongest among casual-dining operators and the lodging segment, which have been hit harder than many other sectors. Optimism is highest among healthcare foodservice, convenience store, and C&U operators, while B&I operators continue to worry most about recovering from this crisis. The pandemic forced operators to make many pivots, such as turning to off-premise strategies: Today, more than three-quarters of foodservice locations (78%) offer takeout and carryout, up from 69% in July. The availability of curbside pickup and delivery also continues to grow. Menus shrank by 10% during COVID, with three out of five operators streamlining their menus to save costs, make menus more "delivery-friendly," or react to supply chain issues and ingredient availability. 3 Q1-2019 Q2-2019 Q3-2019 Q4-2019 Q1-2020 Q2-2020 Q3-2020 Q4-2020 Q1-2021 Q2-2021 Q3-2021 1,791 1,934 1,869 1,904 1,580 1,292 1,547 1,593 1,515 1,772 1,774 Million Pounds Frozen Potato Product Sales to Foodservice Technomic Volumetric Report, 2021 Operators streamlined appetizer, dessert, and alcoholic beverage menus most, leaving entrée menus more intact. Fine dining, the segment most reliant on dine-in traffic, made more menu cuts than any other segment, while quick-service resetaurants were able to maintain their menus, assisted by the availability of drive-thrus that were already set up in many cases. Pre-pandemic, 55% of items were becoming more prolific on menus year over year, including potatoes. The pandemic interrupted this trend, where very few items increased in menu penetration in 2021, and a whopping 82% of all items decreased in menu penetration. Within the fresh vegetable