Holiday Buffets are Booming — Side Delights Shows Retailers How to Grow the Basket

Newport Beach, CA – Side Delights^® is tapping into a fast-growing consumer trend this season:  Southern-style Christmas buffets that feed a crowd and inspire bigger shopping baskets. With more shoppers hosting large, casual gatherings, retailers have an opportunity to merchandise potatoes and complementary ingredients in a way that increases both volume and cross-category sales.

Southern buffet traditions—long known for feeding extended families and holiday guests—are expanding nationwide as consumers look for flexible, self-serve meal formats. Carving stations, hearty casseroles, and abundant sides dominate the menu, creating a natural moment for potatoes to shine as both a staple and a sales driver.

 Taste of Home editor reaffirms the trend: “Since sides are everyone’s favorite, make sure there is variety for your guests, like classic mashed potatoes.”

High-impact merchandising opportunities for retailers

Side Delights^® encourages retailers to capitalize on this shift with cross-merchandised, buffet-inspired displays. Holiday shoppers are looking for ideas — and inspiration placed in the right store zones increases conversion:

• Seafood Department: Promote little red and green appetizers featuring Side Delights^® gourmet petites or Steamables red potatoes paired with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Recipe cards or digital QR displays make it turnkey for shoppers.
• Cheese Aisle: Spotlight buffet-friendly Potato Casserole or Ham and Cheese Potato Soup recipes made with potatoes and cheddar — ideal for driving sales of fresh potatoes plus high-margin dairy.

“Holiday buffets are a high-value sales moment for retailers,” said Kathleen Triou, President & Chief Executive Officer of Fresh Solutions Network. “Potatoes remain one of the most profitable drivers of basket expansion, and when paired with the right complementary items, they lift performance across multiple departments. Side Delights^® equips retailers with shopper-ready recipes and merchandising strategies that turn seasonal interest into incremental revenue.”

By pairing Side Delights^® potatoes with seasonal proteins, cheeses, and pantry ingredients, retailers can turn a single holiday destination into multiple touchpoints that encourage trade-up, trial, and repeat purchase. With versatility, value, and mass appeal, potatoes remain one of the strongest catalysts for cross-category lift during the holidays.

For more information on Side Delights^® and its network of farms, visit  FreshSolutionsNet.com, SideDelights.com, and GrownWhereItMatters.com.

About Fresh Solutions Network, LLC:  Fresh Solutions Network (FSN) is the exclusive supplier of Side Delights^® potatoes and onions.  FSN is a group of family-owned potato and onion growers and shippers who help fresh potato and onion buyers grow their categories, maximize category investment, and increase sales. FSN delivers category insights, collaborative innovation, and customized assortment. Fresh Solutions Network, LLC partners include: Masser Family of Companies, Inc. (Masser Potato Farms and Keystone Potato Products in Sacramento and Hegins, PA), Fresh Solution Farms (White Pigeon, MI), Michael Family Farms, Inc. (Urbana, OH), Basin Gold Cooperative, Inc. (Pasco, WA), and NoKota Packers, Inc. (Buxton, ND).