Pre-chopped spuds gaining popularity

MARS HILL, Maine — Naturally Potatoes hopes to do for the unpretentious spud what bagged salad did for the humble head of lettuce.

The company is washing, peeling, chopping — and even partially cooking — potatoes. The final product is refrigerated, so it's ready to go with no thawing.

All of that slicing, dicing and mashing has added up to 30 percent annual growth and annual sales of $20 million, said President Rodney McCrum.

Naturally Potatoes is focusing on food service institutions and restaurant chains such as Ruby Tuesday's, but McCrum sees future retail growth alongside other prepared foods aimed at helping harried Americans get dinner on the table.

"The prepared food section is only going to grow, and people are going to continue to go out to eat," he said. "We think there are opportunities in both."

So do McCrum's competitors, Minnesota-based Michael Foods and Oregon-based Reser's Fine Foods Inc. Reser's product line is named "Potato Express," and Michael Foods, which describes itself as the largest refrigerated potato manufacturer in the U.S., uses "Simply Potatoes."

Statistics show, however, that potato consumption has dropped steadily in the United States. But market researcher Harry Balzer sees plenty of potatoes being eaten, even in a carb-conscious world.

Potatoes rank second to mixed vegetables in terms of side dishes, said Balzer, vice president of NPD Group in Chicago.

"If you're going to help make potato preparation easier, you're on the right track," Balzer said. "Even with a declining market, it's still the second-most popular thing we're going to prepare tonight as a side dish."

For potato growers, any opportunity to add value to the crop is seen as a good thing against a backdrop of a glut of spuds that has depressed prices.

Processors like Naturally Potatoes and two McCain french fry plants in the area are good for potato growers because their contracts contain price guarantees that eliminate the risk associated with the volatile fresh market.

These days, only a third of Maine growers sell their spuds on the fresh market, said Donald Flannery, executive director of the Maine Potato Board.

McCrum was growing potatoes with his brother on a 1,200-acre farm when the salad bag inspired him to try something new in the mid-1990s. "I thought, 'If they can do that with salads, then why can't we do that with potatoes?' " he said.