b'Foodservice Innovation With Potatoes In Turbulent TimesKendra Keenan, Global Marketing Manager for Foodservice,Potatoes USABeforethecoronaviruspandemic,the positioned well in all of these categories. foodserviceindustrywasapproachingan all-time high with steady growth and Foods that deliver wellconstant menu innovation. For the U.S. Foods that are traditionally perceived aspotato industry, this meant an increase easy to deliver, such as pizza, wings, andof 7.3% in domestic potato volume sales hamburgers, have driven sales over theover five years 1 , with 58% of the U.S. past few months. These trends presentpotato market allocated to foodservice1, an excellent opportunity for potatoes asand85%offrozenpotatoesgoingto they pair nicely with pizza, hamburgers,restaurants and other foodservice chan- wings,andmuchmore.Oneareaofnels 1 . untapped potential is the combinationof potatoes on pizza. This flavor and tex-Due to in-person restaurant dining clo- ture combination is wildly successful insures, the National Restaurant Associa- Asia-Pacificcountriesbuthasnottion reported that the U.S. foodservice reached its peak in the U.S. From theindustry lost $120 billion in sales from Northeast classic mashed potato pizza toUSA PotatoesMarch to May and is predicted to lose a breakfast hash brown pizza, potatoes$240 billion in sales by the end of 2020. canplayasignificantroleinpizzaAs of June 12, 2020, 75% of operators enhancement. On the other hand, if asay it is unlikely their restaurant will be potato dish, like delicious fries, accom-profitable within the next six months 2 . paniesthesepopularitemsandisnotMessageAlthoughrestaurantsarecurrentlyre- delivered to crispy perfection, the soggyopening their indoor and outdoor din- experiencecoulddiscouragearepeatingrooms,manyoperatorsarenot purchase, which is crucial to a restau-expecting business as usual or even full rants success. To prevent this soft spudrecovery until two to five years 3 , accord- misfortune, the potato industry shoulding to Technomic, a leading foodservice continue to provide simple solutions forindustry research firm.restaurants,suchaspackagingtips,recipe ideas, and basic SKU education.Despite the devastating impact on thefoodserviceindustry,manyrestaurants Family bundle mealshave tailored their operations through Dining room closures forced operatorscreative menu development and serving toquicklypivottheirattention,andconceptstohelpkeepthelightson. menus,tooff-premiseofferings.MoreOperatorsarefocusingonfoodsthat thanever,consumershavebeenpur-deliver well, family bundle meals, and chasing an increased amount of food forimmunity-boosting foods potatoes are consumption at home. Because of these6 POTATO GROWER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020'