Chips are a British institution and a menu staple, everywhere from high-end restaurants, high-street chains and gastropubs to fish and chip shops and mobile vans. Some 1.5 million tonnes of home-grown potatoes are made into chips every year and the market has shown signs of steady growth, with the year-round favourite remaining a popular choice with UK consumers, both inside and outside the home.
In fact, demand for chilled chips in the retail sector has grown rapidly in the last 12 months, with recent figures from Kantar Worldpanel showing an 82 per cent increase in spend and a 58 per cent increase in volume from 2009 to 2010, far exceeding figures from the previous year, when there was a more modest spend increase of four per cent and a volume increase of 0.39 per cent.
This week, National Chip Week is set to push the national favourite into the spotlight and boost sales further still. The annual event has been running for 19 years and as always, the Potato Council is spearheading the activities.
The centrepiece of the event will be the Perfect Portion Awards, open to all of the 11,000 chip shops and anywhere else that sells chips. More than 18,000 nominations were received this year and the best chips will be awarded across 10 different regions. The winners will get a visit or call from cheeky TV chappy Keith Chegwin, who will perform his very own ‘chip-tastic’ version of a song by a local band or artist chosen by the public.
This will be backed by a nationwide PR campaign that will push chips into the spotlight, with events across the UK.
Caroline Evans, head of marketing and corporate affairs at the Potato Council, insists that the event will boost the sector at a time that has the potential to be a quiet period. “National Chip Week serves a positive purpose for the whole industry,” she says. “The event generates massive amounts of media and press coverage and helps increase sales across all sectors; fish and chip shops, retail and foodservice.
“National Chip Week has become an established date with the media and participants and falls close to Valentine’s Day, which is in keeping with the Love Chips theme.
“Recent years have shown that the week helps increase sales for at least two-thirds of those fish and chip shops taking part.”
Across the potato industry, the promotional week has become a good time for the industry to make the most of its offer, take stock and think about the best way forward.
A key consideration is what makes the type of chip that consumers are looking for, a priority for anyone supplying chips into the retail or foodservice sectors.
“The perfect chip comes from the perfect potato,” says Evans. “According to recent consumer insight from Focus Group Research, the perfect chip has a deep golden glow to it, with paler counterparts sometimes rejected. For customers, appearance is key and they will often base their expectations of a meal and how it will taste on its looks. As long as chips are produced from quality potatoes, the taste and satisfaction afforded to their customers will remain.”
However, it is clear that apart from the look, feel and taste of chips, price is an important factor.
Mohammed Essa, general manager for the UK and Ireland at Aviko, maintains that high quality and value for money make for best-selling chips, but he admits that frozen alternatives to chilled chips have made for increased competition and that frozen has continued to dominate the chips market.
The firm launched its Lord Chips range back in the 1950s for the foodservice market and to celebrate the brand through National Chip Week, Aviko is giving away a case (two x 5kg) of 14mm Lord Chips through a number of offers.
“Consumers are still seeking good quality and value for money and recent independent research carried out by Aviko has shown that operators are choosing their chips based on quality and consistency too, over and above price,” Essa explains. “Knowing the origin of the potato was, surprisingly, the least important factor.
“Lord Chips are made exclusively for caterers and offer convenience, consistent quality, a quicker cooking time than frozen chips, lower oil consumption and a 21-day shelf life after production…
“Aviko works hard to collate feedback from customers in order to provide menu solutions through innovative new product development,” says Essa. “This means constantly reviewing its product portfolio and updating the range to fit the needs of our customers.
“We have a fantastic team of professionals working hard to ensure our products are produced to a consistent quality, 12 months of the year. As potatoes are a natural product, dependent on a number of factors, this can present some challenges. The quality of the raw material can change every month, from variety to variety. It is for these reasons that Aviko adheres to stringent quality control measures to ensure the end product is consistent.
“Each Aviko product requires around 1,000 growers to cultivate potatoes. Our growers are located close to our factories to ensure the potatoes are kept as fresh as possible, at the same time as keeping transport costs and our carbon footprint down.”
The foodservice sector, in particular, has a major interest in chilled chips as a quick and easy way to serve up high-quality meals.
Matthew Wale, head of procurement at Reynolds Catering Supplies, explains that the tastes of the chip market have evolved since the recession hit, but he insists that the sector has remained strong and extended its offer to meet changing demands. “The chip market is more buoyant, but in a different way - it is not about buying more chilled chips, but about the diversification of the range,” he says. “We sell a range of chips, from the raw material that chefs can cut themselves to a bespoke offer to French fries. And it is this range of products that makes the chip market more interesting.
“Another development is that we have seen more emphasis on British food in foodservice, but with a twist. It won’t just be sausage and mash, it will be more specific and high end. This trend has boosted the chip market and we are seeing a move towards a variety of hand-cut chips, in different shapes and sizes.
“We have done a lot of work to make sure we are targeting the right dry matter and the right coloration, which reflects the relationships we have with a lot of our suppliers. And we can use our test kitchens to make sure they provide the right flavour profile.
“The thing we are working on with chips is the different varieties and we are working with our suppliers on provenance and finding a uniqueness, so that we can find out what our customers need and work with them behind the scenes.
“Chips are very a personal taste so we have to be careful that we are marketing the right produce to each of our customers.”
All in all, the chip market is enjoying strong growth and with continued innovation in the form of new shapes, tastes and varieties, the sector should be set for some long-term growth. Across the industry, growers and suppliers will have their fingers crossed that National Chip Week will become a platform for further growth this year.
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