January and February 2021 retail sales of potatoes were improved from a year ago, but March sales trailed the pandemic-fueled performance of a year ago, new statistics show.
Retail figures were compiled by IRI and summarized by Potatoes USA.
“It is no surprise that sales in March of 2021 could not keep up with the buying patterns that occurred in that crazy month a year ago,” Potatoes USA said in a news release.
March 2020 was an unprecedented time for potato sales in grocery stores as panic buying began a yearlong streak of record-high sales in dollars and volume, according to the release.
While sales of potatoes for the first two months of 2021 remained above the same time period the previous year, the release said March brought the total store potato sales down overall.
Dollar sales of potatoes in the three-month period of January through March fell by -0.5% in March, while volume sales declined by -3.6%.
The release said most of the decrease in January-March retail sales came from canned and dehydrated potatoes, both of which performed extremely well a year ago, according to the release.
On the other hand, frozen and refrigerated potatoes, along with deli-prepared sides, were the three categories to grow in both dollar and volume sales in March 2021 compared to 2020.
Refrigerated potatoes saw the largest percentage increase, rising by 5.3% in dollars and 2.5% in volume. Last March, deli-prepared sides was the only category to decline in sales due to the closure of many of these spaces, according to the release.
Fresh performance
January through March 2021 fresh potato sales fell by 3.5% in dollars and 5.1% in volume compared to the same quarter last year, according to the release.
The decline in sales, according to the release, is attributed to russet, red, white, and purple potatoes. Yellow, petite, medley, and fingerling potatoes continued to grow in dollar and volume sales for the entire quarter, including March. The most significant percentage increase was for medley potatoes, growing by 21.5% in dollars and 27% in volume for the quarter. While most pack sizes declined in sales, one through four-pound bags continued to grow in dollars and volume, according to the release.
“While a lot has changed over the last year, sales have stabilized in a more predictable way for potatoes,” Potatoes USA said in the release. “Dollar and volume sales remain higher than before panic buying, showing consumer demand for potatoes at home is still strong.”
