Idahoan Foods potato business not mashed by COVID-19

Idahoan Foods, the leading manufacturer of dehydrated mashed potato products in the country, won’t let the COVID-19 pandemic mash its operations.

In fact, the current public health crisis has rooted out a 250% increase in orders for Idahoan products as consumers have targeted non-perishable foods. To meet that demand, the company is hiring for all three of its Idaho locations.

Headquartered in Idaho Falls, Idahoan Foods currently employs 780 with the main plant in the tiny town of Lewisville, 15 miles to the north, and a second plant in Rupert. According to Dun & Bradstreet, Idahoan has $350 million in annual sales.

Idahoan wants to hire 100 more employees immediately at all three of its locations.

“We are adjusting to more than doubled demand from our retail customers,” said Ryan Ellis, vice president of retail marketing. “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. We take the responsibility of continuing to provide families with Idahoan products very seriously. Our dedicated employees are at the forefront of making that possible.”

The company has expanded time-away benefits and committed $600,000 in additional financial disbursements to 600 front-line operations and warehouse employees. Payments will be made retroactively back to March 1, 2020.

“At Idahoan, I’ve always said that our employees are what make the difference in our company. This is now more obvious than ever before,” CEO Drew Facer said in an open letter to Idahoan employees.

In response to the outbreak, Idahoan rolled out a number of new safety measures and incentives for its workforce of essential employees.

“Our top priority is ensuring the health and safety of our team, and we’ve taken extraordinary measures and precautions to maintain a safe workplace,” Facer said. “We’re so proud of the work every team member in each facility is doing to continue feeding America when the country needs it most.”

Across the nation, demand has exploded for items such as flour, canned goods and dried pasta. CNN reported that sales of baking yeast were up 647% in the week ending March 21, while sales of spiral hams spiked 622% at that time.