Category Captains: Pierogies and Sweet Potatoes

Pierogies

Driven by the high cost of dining out and groceries, consumers are making more meals at home. That’s good news for Mrs. T’s, where food, fun and family are always the key ingredients. As the largest provider of pierogies in the country, Mrs. T’s is leading the category by helping more consumers enjoy the stuffed pasta pockets that originated in Eastern Europe.

Alyssa Panzarella, Director of Marketing at Mrs. T’s, reported previously, “As we look ahead, I’m optimistic but also realistic. We see continued demand for convenient, comforting and flavorful meal solutions, which certainly plays to our strengths. People are still busy, but they also crave those moments of connection and enjoyment around food—and pierogies deliver.”

There are several factors they are considering as they consider strategies for the future. Panzarella shared these earlier this year, “We’re working hard to manage costs and provide value to our consumers without compromising the quality they expect. This requires a delicate balance in our pricing and promotional strategies. Today’s consumers, especially younger generations, are more adventurous with flavors and have higher expectations around health, sustainability and transparency. This pushes us to explore new product innovations while staying true to our core identity. Ensuring a stable and reliable supply chain remains critical. We’re constantly evaluating and strengthening our sourcing and production processes to mitigate potential disruptions. The way people shop is changing rapidly, with increased online grocery adoption and the rise of alternative retail channels. We need to be agile in adapting our distribution and marketing strategies to meet consumers wherever they are.”

Mrs. T’s Pierogies is a story that started in the Twardzik family kitchen, in the small town of Shenandoah, PA. But it’s a story that continues more than 65 years later. Staying true to their roots and family-centric culture sets them apart. Panzarella formerly recounted, “We have a strong sense of our history and heritage, which guides our decisions. We’re not afraid to innovate, but we always stay true to the core values and quality in our original recipes. We are a family business. There’s a strong sense of collaboration, empathy and long-term thinking. This allows us to be more flexible, responsive and focused on doing what’s right for our team, consumers and customers.”

“We are unwavering in our commitment to quality. Consumers know that when they buy Mrs. T’s, they’re getting a delicious, high-quality product every time. We’re open and honest in our communication with consumers and partners. We strive to build strong, long-term relationships with our partners. We’re reliable, responsive and committed to their success.”

From family favorite to category leader—Mrs. T’s unique combination of innovative thinking and tradition is just what makes them the recipe for success.

Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potato growers are rebounding from a less-than-stellar crop. Leading growers like Nash Produce have not only bounced back but are performing strong and saw a boost in demand and sales during Thanksgiving. 

“We’re coming off a year like last year, where the industry was down around 25 to 30 percent, at least in North Carolina, and this year we have a better crop,” said Director of Business Development, David Bradley. “It has put inventory at a normal level in the industry. We’re wrapping up Thanksgiving and things are pretty steady for the most part. There’s a lot of variability in the agriculture industry, so you have to play the cards you were dealt.”

Whether that’s packaging and portioning out sweet potatoes that relieves consumers from scrubbing, peeling and chopping sweet potatoes to keeping store shelves dependably stocked year round, Nash Produce is committed to making cooking with sweet potatoes a convenient one. Bradley said, “You see a lot of growth in our value-added products over the past few years. Whether that be bags or shrink packages—any value-added product that focuses on the convenience factor for the consumer. I think sweet potatoes have a good context with health and so they’re being consumed more on a non-seasonal basis, which is good for the industry. I think with the focus on health and convenience, that’s helped the category grow over the past few years. We like to say it’s a superfood with all the vitamins and nutrients that sweet potatoes provide. The North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission does a great job of trying to get that connotation out there on not just being a seasonal food. That it’s an everyday food consumers can implement into their diet.”

One facet that makes Nash Produce a solid partner is the company’s unwavering philosophy to be true to their word. “The big thing is we say what we’re going to do,” Bradley said. “We ship year-round, so we always have a constant supply of sweet potatoes. Our focus is on trying to create value for retailers. We think of all these things for the long-term partnership. We offer quality products. At the end of the day, we’re here for a long-term partnership. We want this to succeed and we’re going to do everything in our power to help them succeed in the sweet potato category.”

“We’re trying to innovate and create value from a retailer’s and a consumer’s perspective. We’re constantly trying to grow and trying to innovate to make everybody’s lives easier so they will eat more sweet potatoes, but also we want them to have a quality product,” he added. “We want the consumer to go home with a good product, and we want the retailer to be proud of the product they sell.”

Nash Produce works with retailers to keep sweet potatoes relevant year-round. The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays see an uptick in sweet potato demand, along with the beginning of the new year, when consumers are committed to eating healthier. “Obviously with promotions and trying to create value with retailers in any shape or form whether that’s helping with a marketing scheme, maybe in-store displays, trying to help promote our brand and our product and then also offer different value added products, trying to see what works well in their stores, what would take off and work with them to help increase overall volume,” Bradley said. “With January coming up, everyone will be on a health kick, and we want to make sure we put the sweet potatoes in a shelf space where consumers can see, so they are on the consumer’s mind.”