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Ease and authenticity: a winning combination for Idahoan

Consumer demand for fresh foods is on the rise, but striking the right balance by delivering fresh taste and convenience can help packaged food brands succeed.

3 min read

Food

Ease and authenticity: a winning combination for Idahoan

(Image: Idahoan Foods)

This post is sponsored by Idahoan Foods.

While the perimeter may be the fastest growing section of the supermarket, the center store’s packaged potato category has seen a resurgence in the past year, thanks in large part to the success of Idahoan Foods. The 60-year old Idahoan brand has nearly tripled its market share over the past decade to become the top distributor of mashed potatoes in the US.

The Idahoan brand has amassed a loyal following, with a 32% household penetration rate in the US, the second highest household penetration rate of all side dish items across the entire center store, based on 2019 IRI data. Additionally, consumers voted Idahoan’s Family Sized Mashed Potatoes a 2019 Product of the Year, awarding it top honors in the side dish category.

A driving factor behind the brand’s success is its base of real Idaho potatoes, which are “fresh-dried, marrying the fresh taste of world-famous Idaho potatoes that shoppers are craving with the ease of being ready in minutes,” Idahoan Foods President and CEO Drew Facer said.

The proprietary fresh-drying method, which Idahoan developed in 1999, creates a product that consumers value for its authenticity, capturing homemade taste with a cook time that’s far quicker than preparing mashed potatoes from scratch. For many consumers, peeling, boiling and mashing fresh potatoes is too time-consuming for the average weeknight dinner, but Idahoan’s mashed potato products can be prepared in minutes with boiling water.

This convenience aspect is another key to the brand’s success, since busy consumers “strive to get a wholesome dinner on their family table quickly, and with pride,” Facer said. “That’s where Idahoan has found its success: offering a delicious meal option that marries unparalleled quality and convenience.”

In addition to those factors, Facer said innovation is also a key tenet of the Idahoan brand. When the company introduced its proprietary fresh-drying process in 1999, it “overhauled a category that had been using 1960s methods that produced a sub-optimal product and consumer experience,” he said.

Today, the company continues to innovate while delivering on the quality and value that consumers seek out in Idahoan’s core products.

“With offerings ranging from new product lines, such as Idahoan Hearty Soups, which launched in 2015, to designing limited flavor runs based on individual foodservice account needs, we’ve stayed true to who we are and what we know best while innovating,” Facer said.

Visit Idahoan’s website to learn more about America’s Favorite Mashed Potatoes.

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