While food manufacturers supplying to foodservice are suffering from lost revenue and layoffs, companies primarily serving retail customers are faced with exactly the opposite.
One example is potato processor Idahoan Foods. The manufacturer of dehydrated potato products reported a sales increase of 250 percent in March.
The Idaho Falls, Idaho-based company is the leading seller of instant mashed potatoes in the U.S., a good thing to be when people are looking for non-perishables with which to stock their pantries during a pandemic.
“Idahoan Foods is taking its role in feeding families amid the COVID-19 pandemic more seriously than ever before,” says Casey Carty, of Hunter Public Relations, which handles Idahoan’s public relations outreach
To meet the growing demand, Idahoan is looking to hire 100 additional employees. Currently, the company employs 780 people.
“We are adjusting to more than doubled demand from our retail customers,” says Idahoan vice president of retail marketing Ryan Ellise. “These are unprecedented times not only for our team, but also for consumers across the country, who are more than ever leaning on trusted brands to feed their families.”
Idahoan Foods is currently expanding time away benefits and dispersing $600,000 in monthly bonuses for March, April and May among 610 operations employees and warehouse workers.