Side Delights Potatoes Meet Post-Pandemic Consumer Needs, Helping Retailers Cater to Demand

Newport Beach, CA – Side Delights® announced multiple solutions to shopping habits, from cooking at home and pantry-stocking to preferences on plant-based meals.

Four years after the onset of the pandemic, data shows a sustained surge in consumers opting to cook at home. Despite initial expectations that dining out would return to pre-pandemic habits, consumers have embraced recipes and the enjoyment of preparing meals in their own homes for their friends and families while developing their skills in the kitchen¹.

Home cooks credited the ability to create quick, budget-friendly meals and experiment with new recipes and ingredients as key reasons they continue to lean into staying home. When choosing a recipe, 76% of home cooks stated their top consideration as whether they have the ingredients on hand, and (40%) listed “pantry-friendly” as a go-to cooking “vibe” for 2024².

“You need a well-stocked pantry to get dinner on the table night after night, and during the pandemic, there was an increase in demand for pantry-stable items,” noted Kathleen Triou, president and CEO of Fresh Solutions Network. “Affordable and shelf-stable, Potatoes fit the go-to cooking vibe.”

Healthy eating habits also remain a top post-pandemic priority. Data from the 2024 consumer expenditures study revealed that most shoppers now self-identify as “health-conscious,” and one of the most frequently purchased items at a grocery store within the past month is fresh produce³. Industry experts predict that as the plant-based trend continues to make the list of Top 10 Food Trends of 2024, consumers want suppliers to “Put the ‘plant’ back in plant-based, perfectly positioning potatoes as shopper staple⁴.

These shopper habits necessitate grocery stores to reevaluate their store offerings to cater to the growing demand for home-cooking-centric products and solutions.

“With a focus on healthy eating, home cooking, and budget-friendly shopping, pantry stocking is having a moment again,” added Triou. “Side Delights® potatoes provide retailers with cost-effective, healthy, and time-saving shopper options for the pantry to the plate.”

Side Delights® offers a variety of choices of nutritious, economical products, including bagged and bulk potatoes, potato kits, convenience potatoes, petite potatoes, fresh-cut potatoes, and organic potatoes. For more information on Side Delights® products and its network of farms, visit 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 (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), NoKota Packers, Inc. (Buxton, ND), and Mack Farms (Lake Wales, FL).