Study: Understanding Potato Perceptions and Consumption in the U.S.
Of all Americans, 22% claim to eat potatoes frequently, while 28% claim to only eat them once or twice a week, according to an online U.S. survey conducted by Meeting Street Insights among 1,000 adults (aged 18+) between December 15-18, 2023.
In terms of perceived healthfulness, potatoes come in last among 10 regularly consumed veggies, even though 60% of Americans believe they are healthy and 18% say they are extremely healthy. The starchy vegetable subgroup includes white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and maize, three of the four vegetables that consumers rated as being the least healthful.
When customers evaluate white potatoes according to cost, nutrition, and flavor, they do better overall. Of all Americans, over three-quarters (72%) think potatoes offer good value, and 24% think they offer very good value. Compared to white Americans, non-white customers are more likely to rate potatoes as having higher value.
“53% of consumers say potatoes are the most foundational vegetables to their culture when compared to other commonly consumed vegetables. This finding was consistent across most race/ethnic groups with at least half of white (54%), Hispanic (53%), Black (52%), and Native (50%) Americans citing potatoes as foundational to their family and cultural food traditions,” according to the study’s findings.
When preparing potatoes, the majority of Americans eat the skin or peel. When baked, 76% when roasted, 71% when mashed, and 58% when boiling, a whopping 85% of respondents claim to eat potatoes with the skin on.
Respondents were sourced from Dynata’s online general population consumer panel. Standard demographic quotas were set to mirror Census data for region, gender, age, and race; weights were also applied so that education level aligned with Census figures. The credibility interval for a sample of N=1,000 is +/-3.53%. Potatoes USA commissioned the study.
Vegetable consumption in the U.S. is pervasively low. Nine out of 10 Americans do not meet daily vegetable recommendations. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) stress the importance of meeting people where they are, with incremental steps to effectively and sustainably improve eating behaviors and, in turn, diet quality. Understanding attitudes about commonly consumed vegetables, and how perceptions can affect real-world behaviors and consumption, is important to helping close the vegetable consumption gap.
