Increasing Uptake of Fries Driving the Sweet Potatoes Market

The global food and beverage industry is thriving at a fast pace, and the sweet potato market is a mere segment in this industry. The global market size of the sweet potato lies between $42.0 billion to $43.5 billion, which is accelerating at a steady CAGR of 1.1% to 1.6% during the forecast period of 2019 to 2025. The Asia-Pacific sweet potato marketplace is the dominating ace with an outstanding market share of 80% to 83%, as of 2018. On the other hand, the regions in the west such as the Americas and the Europe are gradually following the disrupting market trends from APAC. The food and beverage industry is considered as the home-ground for the sweet potato, with the demand projected to increase at a positive CAGR of 1.3% to 1.6%. The information is from the business analysis market research report from IndustryARC titled “Sweet potatoes market: by application (food, beverage, animal feed and others); by form (whole product, paste, flour and others); by type (fresh, frozen, dried and others); by end use (commercial, residential and others); by geography forecast (2019 - 2025).”  

Sweet potato, Ipomoea batatas or Solanum tubersum are dicotyledonous plants, unlike monocots which have only one vein (cotyledon). It is a vegetable crop with a sweet and spicy flavor mostly used to prepare savory dishes. Sweet potatoes are considered as nutrition powerhouse as they are highly furnished with nutrients such as potassium, vitamins, fiber, manganese, and copper. Additionally, these crop consist of high amounts antioxidants called beta carotene which is very effective in preventing aging problems along with fatal diseases such as cancer. Regular consumption of sweet potatoes decreases the risk of issues such as diabetes, obesity, and fluctuating blood pressure. As per the IndustryARC market analysis, the global sweet potato market is witnessing a swift growth in recent years owing to the increasing awareness among the consumers about its health benefits.

As per the IndustryARC report, the key players influencing the sweet potato market are: McCain Foods Limited, The J. R. Simplot Company, Dole Food Company, Inc., Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc., Nash Produce, LLC, Yantai China Pet Foods Co., Ltd., The Kraft Heinz Company, Ham Farms,  A.V. Thomas Produce, and Wayne E. Bailey Produce Company, Inc.

The global temptation towards processed food has increased in recent years. Teenagers are mostly responsible for this market growth. In order to produce something healthy for the age group, the Canadian firm McCain Foods Limited came up with sweet potato fries. Owing to the texture and flavor of fries added with nutritional benefits of sweet potato, the product was readily accepted and praised with open arms by people all around the world. According to Food Innovation Online Corp, the product was adequately marketed by the company through various advertisements campaigns which awarded the company with two bronze medal at the Canadian CASSIE awards in 2011, for the best product launch among all the other packaged product.    

The company Ham Farms from Snow Hill, North Carolina is one of the leading producer and exporter of sweet potatoes. This company produces slightly different sweet potato, which has a distinct orange color, sweet flavor, and large sized. These Covington sweet potatoes have abundant amount of vitamin A with reduced calories and starch. The company distributes these sweet potatoes in several packing variants such as canned sweet potato, microwavable easy sweet potato, and in mesh bags. The company claims to follow sustainable agriculture standards for the production of their sweet potatoes. They have incorporated Integrated Pest Management system, resource conservation, recycling products, and recycling waste products policy to follow a sustainable path towards the production of their distinctive sweet potatoes which is largely benefitting the sweet potato market.      

This company is increasing awareness among the citizens about the health benefits of sweet potato. They are producing multiple variants of sweet potatoes such as mashed, soufflé, baked, or in a pie. According to the 2015 World development report from the International Food Policy Research Institute, the consumption of sweet potato among children reduces the risk of diarrhea in a considerable amount. This also reduces the potential threat of Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) among the children which can cause night blindness, partial blindness, or complete blindness as well. The plaguing health benefit awareness among the people is expected to advocate towards the market growth of the sweet potato market.   

North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potato in the United States with over 400 cultivators. According to the USDA, North Carolina harvested 95,000 acres of sweet potato in 2016. The company has innovated various end products of sweet potato such as sweet potato ice-cream, sweet potato energy cookies, and sweet potato smoothies. The development in the preparation of different dishes from sweet potato is going to make sweet potato popular among the children. Tackling the small aged people with innovative products of sweet potato is projected to harness huge market sweet potatoes market revenue in the near future. 

Sweet potato is a crop harvested from under the ground. It is filled with health benefits owing to its high vitamin A concentration. The global food and beverage market is the major growth driver for the sweet potato market. The Asia-Pacific region is the most lucrative market for the sweet potatoes but the rising awareness towards the health benefits is estimated to increase the popularity of the product in the west as well. Innovation in the recipes and the manufacturing processes is expected to couple huge profits in the sweet potato market in near future.