Potatoes reign supreme for seventh straight year

Potatoes still reign as America’s favorite vegetable for the seventh year in a row, according to the 2023 Consumer Attitudes & Usage study conducted by SRG on behalf of Potatoes USA.

Eight in 10 Americans report they eat potatoes at least once a week, up 3% from the previous year.

Rounding out the top five favorite vegetables were broccoli, corn, tomatoes and salad mix.

Mashed potatoes topped the charts this year as the style consumers had eaten most recently, followed by fries, baked potatoes, roasted potatoes and hash browns, although fries continued to be the most popular foodservice side. Of the preparation styles, roasted potatoes — sliced or diced — saw the biggest growth from the previous year, rising four points.

Healthy attributes

In terms of health-related attributes, the largest increases were seen in consumers who believe potatoes provide nutrients (4 points), are an excellent source of vitamin C (5 points) and are good for weight management (4 points).

Other noteworthy insights on consumer behaviors include: • Half of Americans report someone in their household follows specific dietary guidelines, most typically low-sugar, low- sodium and low-carb diets.

• 83% of consumers say they tend to use recipes for their food preparation, and most seek them out using search engines, recipe sites, YouTube and Facebook.
• While most Americans would describe themselves as short-order cooks favoring basic meals, a growing majority (61%) prefers to cook with ingredients from scratch as opposed to packaged or prepared foods.

Consumer responses

This year’s study indicates that consumers primarily choose foods based on flavor, value and freshness, which is consistent with earlier studies. That said, consumers are also looking for food that’s convenient or makes them excited about eating.

The study also asked respondents why they don’t eat potatoes more frequently. Most consumers responded that they believe they already eat enough potatoes, followed by concerns that potatoes are high in carbs or fattening or that they prefer other vegetables. It’s worth noting, however, that all these barriers declined from the previous year.

When asked what would encourage them to buy more potatoes, consumers cited lower prices, smaller bag sizes to reduce food waste, having recipe and meal ideas, and knowing more nutritional information about potatoes.

Potatoes USA commissions the Consumer Attitude & Usage study annually to help assess Americans’ potato consumption, their perceptions about the vegetable and their attitudes about foods in general. The goal is to be able to share and apply insights to help the potato industry better meet the needs of its consumers.

For more information, email Media@ PotatoesUSA.com.