“We have always had a strong commitment to quality,” said Jim Richter, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Floyd Wilcox & Sons Inc. and its marketing arm, Wilcox Fresh, in Rexburg, ID.

In pursuit of that commitment, “this summer we invested in some new Odenberg graders,” Richter told The Produce News. “Those were installed the first of September, so as we go into the new crop year, we are going to have those Odenberg graders in place. That is going to help us take our quality from good to great in the years ahead.”

The most significant feature of the new equipment, he said, is “that it allows you to set that machine to look at all sides of the potato.” The human eye often takes only a two-dimensional look at a potato when grading, he said. But “an Odenberg grader allows you to really make sure you are getting the right shape, the right quality,” and to detect defects that the human eye might miss.

Although Idaho Russets are a major portion of Wilcox’s production, the company also grows, packs and markets specialty potato varieties such as reds, golds, purples and fingerlings.

“We understand the demand for a variety of spuds. For this reason we also provide a large arrangement of potatoes of different styles and colors,” states the company’s website. Some of those are from growing areas outside of Idaho.

One specialty product line offered by Wilcox for retail customers is a value-added line called “Potato Jazz,” and it consists of four SKUs of steam kits of fresh baby potatoes with seasoning packs.

“‘Potato Jazz’ continues to do well for us, in partnership with the Little Potato Co.” in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, he said. The “Potato Jazz” products are now in more than 2,500 retail stores in the United States and are carried by all the major retailers in Canada.

“We will start shipping new crop out of Canada, from Edmonton in the western part of the country and PEI next week,” Richter said. That Canadian product “will take us all the way through May.”

“Quality looks outstanding,” he continued. “We are optimistic that by the time we roll into the holidays we will be in over 3,000 retail stores here in the U.S. with ‘Potato Jazz,’ so the value added category continues to grow.”

There is, he said, “a real demand for small potatoes, and customers like the convenience of five minutes in a steam tray” to have “a nice side dish to go with their meal.”

In Idaho, the company’s Norkotah harvest was under way and Richter expected the Burbank harvest to start the last week in September. The potatoes will “go through the sweat” during October, and by late October the Burbanks will all be in storage and “ready to go for the season.”

Wilcox is “always looking for new items and innovations to be able to offer our customers so that they can continue to differentiate themselves from the competition,” he said.