“OH!Tatoes has perfected the art of freezing fresh Idaho potatoes so consumers can enjoy fluffy, flavorful baked potatoes in minutes. This expansion allows us to vertically integrate to provide the unmatched quality of baked Idaho potatoes in an easier format, with a longer shelf life, than ever before,” said Julian Critchfield, president and CEO of The Mart Group, in a press release.
Baked potatoes without the bake: OH!Tatoes focuses on convenience
The facility’s opening follows a multi-year commitment from The Mart Group and its frozen food subsidiary — Mart Frozen Foods — to expand from fresh potatoes to frozen food, Critchfield told FoodNavigator-USA.
Earlier this year, The Mart Group launched its microwavable frozen baked potato brand, OH!Tatoes, which are ready to eat after four minutes in the microwave. The product is available at Publix, Associated Foods, Harris Teeter and other Midwest grocers.
The Mart Group designed the Rupert facility to process a variety of potatoes, including red, yellow, purple and mini potatoes, providing opportunities to innovate in the frozen or fresh categories, Critchfield explained.
The Mart Group first became interested in the frozen aisle of the grocery store after acquiring a processing plant in Burley, Idaho — a short distance from the Rupert facility — that sold frozen baked potatoes to the Asia Pacific market, Critchfield noted. This gave The Mart Group an idea to test a frozen baked potato in the US, he added.
“We compared a microwave potato, a regular baked potato and then an OH!Tatoes, and the sensory test was that the OH!Tatoes were equivalent to the whole baked potato and superior to the microwave potato. With that, we went out and developed the OH!Tatoes brand and our first product offering was [this] whole-baked frozen potato,” Critchfield said.
‘Agriculture just does not have the money’ for tech investments
Computers “basically” run the Rupert facility, Critchfield noted.
The Mart Group deploys various technologies — including open-source AI and machine-learning platform TensorFlow, cameras and robotic arms — to perform what it calls the “last point of sorting,” he said. The technology examines potatoes and remove defective potatoes from the line, he explained.
This type of technology often comes with a hefty price tag, and “agriculture just does not have the money” given its slim profit margins, Critchfield admitted. Critchfield teamed with technology partners to help deploy its automation and AI technology, doing so within in budget and creating cost-savings and business efficiencies.
“[We] are a huge believer ... in technology, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and we really drive the line, and yet still have employees that are focused on the key areas that they can contribute to, but we depend upon technology to deliver a consistent customer experience in our products,” Critchfield said.
