McCain Foods simplifying its ingredients

Published Thursday January 14th, 2010 
New Brunswick Business Journal

McCain Foods is going back to basics.

The frozen potato products manufacturer's Florenceville-based Canadian division promised Wednesday to simplify the ingredients in its products and packaging nationally, in an effort to appease consumers seeking more natural foods.

More than a year-and-a-half's market research told the french fry firm consumers want frozen foods made with ingredients they understand and would use at home.

"We're calling it the 'It's all good' journey," said Heather Crees, vice-president of marketing at McCain Foods Ltd. Inc. in Canada, in an interview.

The company commissioned an online survey last year that garnered responses from nearly 1,300 Canadians about product ingredients and also held focus groups that quizzed consumers on their preferences.

"We know that 85 per cent of Canadians are looking for prepared food with ingredients that they recognize," Crees said.

The survey, conducted by TNS Canadian Facts, found that more than 80 per cent of Canadians try to avoid foods that have excessive ingredients that look more like chemical names than real food.

According to the results, 86 per cent of Canadians want food companies to be more transparent about the ingredients in their products and close to 90 per cent said they would be more likely to buy frozen foods if they were made with "real" ingredients.

Crees said the customer feedback prompted McCain to begin a "journey" toward including more real and recognizable ingredients in foods, starting with three product lines - frozen pizzas, pizza pockets and potato products.

The firm had to overhaul recipes and where costs increased due to pricier ingredients, cost savings were found elsewhere, Crees said.

The executive said the firm will not be raising prices for customers on the revamped products.

For example, the Superfries now contain sea salt instead of regular salt; since sea salt offers more taste, the company was able to cut its use by 25 per cent, reducing the overall sodium content of the fries.

The packaging has changed, too, to make it easy to read and understand.

On the pizza pockets label, the company has created two lists of ingredients - one for the crust and other for the filling - and both include fewer additives and next to no chemical names.

The firm has a plan to overhaul recipes and packaging for other products, too.

"Our commitment was that we would make changes to those over time as well," Crees said.

She said that in most cases, because McCain largely produces frozen products, it did not need to include the preservatives.

"There are a few instances where either for product functionality or food safety, we do need to keep some ingredients in the products. Our commitment is, when we need to do that, we will be transparent about that," Crees said.

She said McCain's British division moved to increase the amount of recognizable ingredients in its potato business and has done well.

"They have had tremendous success by making moves on their potato initiative."