Potatoes have growing seasons. Potato processors also have growing seasons—and this is one for Lamb Weston, a ConAgra Foods foodservice brand. This spring and summer saw the Boise, Idaho, business unveil a new global brand identity, a new “trace my fries” support program, and a new product with only three ingredients.
Officials say extensive global research with customers in seven countries led to the first major brand refresh in more than 50 years. In tandem, it created a new guiding tagline, “Seeing Possibilities in Potatoes.”
“Our new brand identity truly captures what we do every day at Lamb Weston,” says Lisa Bescherer, vice president of marketing. “We never settle. We always push for the best for our customers around the world. When we look at a potato, we don’t just see a potato, we see possibilities.”
For the record, Lamb Weston supplies frozen potato products to foodservice customers in more than 100 countries. Officials say those activities give Lamb Weston unique insights on consumer and menu trends. In turn, the company has translated those trends into …
… new products: Lamb Weston knows that consumers also want simpler products with fewer ingredients that are easier to understand. Debuting this July were House Cut Lattice Chips, which officials describe as an “all-natural, skin-on potato chip with holes.” The chips have just three ingredients: potato, oil and sea salt.
… transparency. A growing number of consumers want to know where their food comes from.
In fact, recent studies note that “65% of consumers indicated that knowing where their food comes from is of high importance,” and that “72% of Millennials believe they should learn more about the food they’re consuming.”
Using a code found on Lamb Weston branded french fries, operator customers can visit TraceMyFries.com and see the area (one of five growing regions in the US and Canada) where their fries come from—along with information about the potato farmers. In turn, operators can share this with their patrons in a multitude of ways, including point of purchase merchandising elements.
“We’re helping our customers tell the story of their fries—and it all starts with the potato,” says Ashley James, director of strategy for agriculture services at Lamb Weston. “The farmers we work with take great pride in growing our high quality potatoes and we are excited to share their story with our customers.”