Crunching the numbers: Retail data can help increase appetite for potatoes

If you want a snapshot of potato demand in 2025, here it is: $19.9 billion in total retail sales for the calendar year and 15.3 billion pounds sold across all store segments (fresh weight equivalent), according to data compiled by market research and technology company Circana.

Category performance remained stable overall, with volume essentially flat (-0.5%), and dollar sales edged down 0.7% from the prior year, driven largely by a 1% decrease in average consumer price per pound.

The numbers tell the story of a vegetable that remains a staple for Americans, but there are shifts in consumer behavior worth understanding — and new tools to help retailers capitalize on that knowledge.

Fresh leads the way

Fresh potatoes, up 1% for the year, were one of two categories to post volume growth in 2025.

The story within fresh is largely one of specialty potatoes gaining ground. Yellow, medley, petite and purple potatoes each grew more than 6% in volume sales, offsetting declines in russets (-0.5%), reds (-6.6%), and whites (-9.4%).

In dollar terms, that specialty-variety momentum was even more pronounced. Medley potatoes led all fresh types with an 8.8% increase in dollar sales, followed by purple (+8.1%) and yellow (+6.6%). Dollar sales of white potatoes fell 10.0% and reds declined 9.2%.

Overall, fresh potato dollar sales declined a modest 0.3%, with the average price per pound for fresh potatoes falling 1.4% to $0.89.

Size matters

Pack size trends are equally notable. Smaller packs posted strong gains: 2- to 4-pound pack sizes grew 8.4% in volume, followed by 1- to 2-pound packs (+6.3%), and 8-pound packs (+5.8%). In contrast, larger formats decreased, including 5-pound packs (-0.8%), 10-pound packs (-1.0%), and packs greater than 10 pounds (-40.7%).

Fresh potatoes sold in bags, single-wrapped and tray formats all increased in volume. This shift toward smaller pack sizes appears to reflect changing consumer behavior, including smaller households and heightened attention to budget and food waste.

Retail data show that potato purchase trips are increasing even as spending per trip declines, indicating potatoes are being bought more often, in smaller baskets.

Chips, frozen and other segments

Chips remain the largest potato category by fresh weight equivalent volume, though volume and dollar sales both declined 1.5%.

Frozen potato volume held steady (-0.1%). Instant and refrigerated potatoes each declined 2.6% in volume, though refrigerated potato dollar sales bucked the trend with a 0.4% increase. Deli-prepared potato sides represent a small share of total category volume (0.9%) but showed steady growth in both volume (+0.9%) and dollar sales (+2.8%).

On pricing, the total potato category averaged $2.31 per pound in 2025, down 1% year over year. Prices per pound fell for frozen (-1.9%), fresh (-1.4%), instant (-0.2%), and chips (-0.01%), while growing for refrigerated (+3.1%) and deli-prepared sides (+1.9%).

Resource for retailers

Potatoes remain one of the most purchased items in the produce aisle, and grocery carts with potatoes create more value for retailers than those without.

Potatoes USA provides a robust retailer resource center at potatoretailer.com to build on that advantage. It’s designed to make it easier for retailers and the industry professionals who supply them to find everything they need to drive even greater sales.

The hub provides access to tools, data and support, including:

• Retail sales reports, like the Circana data summarized above, tracking how potatoes are performing across categories, pack sizes and variety types

• Basket data analyses that identify which products consumers frequently purchase alongside potatoes, revealing buying patterns that retailers can use to make smarter decisions about product placement, promotions and personalized recommendations

• Merchandising best practices to help retailers optimize how potatoes are displayed and promoted in-store

• Shopper profiles with consumer data relevant to the fresh potato buying experience

• Regional retail reports with market-specific insights

• Case studies highlighting retailers who have successfully grown potato sales in their stores

• Toolkits with ready-to-use materials for in-store promotion and engagement.

Potatoes USA’s retailer resource center provides retailers with data-driven insights, merchandising strategies and ready-to-use tools designed to grow potato category sales, increase shopper engagement and enhance in-store performance across all potato types.

Central to that effort is the concept of “The Power of One Extra Potato Purchase,” which aims to drive at least one additional purchase of fresh potatoes per year in half of all current potato-buying U.S. households — unlocking an estimated 245 million additional pounds of potatoes sold annually.

For growers and others in the supply chain who work with retailers, directing retail partners to potatoretailer.com is an easy way to connect them with category-level support — and to show that the broader potato industry is invested in their success.

Circana compiles figures by working directly with retailers. Potatoes USA accepts no liability for the content of these reports or the consequences of any actions taken based on any information contained herein. Questions can be directed to media@potatoesusa.com.

Nick Bartelme is global retail development manager for Potatoes USA.