Key takeaways:
- Potato breeding is becoming a strategic priority for snack makers as they push for consistent quality, longer storage and greater supply chain resilience.
- New varieties are being designed specifically for processing performance, balancing traits like low sugar levels, high dry matter and disease resistance.
- Major players like PepsiCo are investing in proprietary potatoes, signalling a shift towards greater control – even as ownership and access remain contested in some markets.
The potato might not get much attention in conversations about snack innovation, but it’s becoming one of the most closely engineered raw materials in the category. As crisp makers push for greater consistency and resilience across their supply chains, what’s happening at seed level is starting to matter just as much as what happens in the factory.
New research from Michigan State University (MSU) underlines that shift. Researchers there have developed five new potato varieties – Manistee, Mackinaw, Petoskey, Huron Chipper and Blackberry – aimed at the needs of chip processors, not just growers. The work reflects more than two decades of breeding effort aimed at solving a fundamental challenge: how a potato behaves after months in storage, how it handles disease pressure, and whether it fries the same way in March as it does straight after harvest.
“Potato chips are made year-round, but potatoes are harvested once a year,” said David Douches, professor in MSU’s Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences. “If a variety can’t maintain quality in storage or handle disease pressure, that affects the entire supply chain.”
That challenge isn’t new, but it’s becoming more urgent. Previous research has shown how cold storage can trigger sugar build-up in potatoes, increasing the risk of acrylamide formation during frying – an issue that regulators and manufacturers have been grappling with for years. For processors, managing that balance between storage life and product safety is now part of the same conversation.
And the stakes are high. The global potato chips market is valued at more than $35bn, with major players such as PepsiCo, Kellanova and Intersnack Group all dependent on a steady supply of processing-grade potatoes that meet tight specifications.
Building a better processing potato
The five new MSU varieties reflect just how specific those requirements have become. Manistee, one of the earlier releases, set out to tackle long-term storage, holding chip quality well into the latter part of the processing season. That’s no small feat when potatoes can sit in storage for up to eight months.
Newer varieties layer in additional traits. Mackinaw brings resistance to potato virus Y and late blight alongside storage stability. Petoskey leans into frying performance, producing starch-rich potatoes that crisp up well and take on less oil. Huron Chipper is more about yield and flexibility across different growing regions, while Blackberry – with its purple skin and flesh – nudges into the specialty space while still carrying strong disease resistance.
“You can’t rely on a single variety,” said Dr Douches. “Different climates, disease pressures and storage conditions require different strengths. Having multiple varieties spreads risk and keeps the supply stable.”
That idea of spreading risk is becoming more relevant as growing conditions become less predictable. Weather volatility, shifting pest pressures and tighter input constraints are all feeding into a more uncertain outlook for potato supply. It’s also why a number of research initiatives are now focused specifically on extending storage life and preserving processing quality for longer, reflecting just how critical post-harvest performance has become.
When snack companies start breeding their own
Alongside public research, large snack manufacturers are putting more weight behind their own potato pipelines. PepsiCo is often cited here, not least because of the scale of its crisp business through brands like Lay’s and Walkers.
The company has spent years working with growers and breeders to develop potatoes that suit its processing systems. That includes varieties that deliver more consistent yields, cope better with environmental stress and maintain quality during storage. Water efficiency has also been a focus, particularly in regions where supply is under pressure.
In some cases, that work is moving into intellectual property. PepsiCo has secured patents around specific potato varieties designed for crisp production, underlining just how strategic the raw material has become – even if attempts to retain exclusive rights have not always held, notably in India where courts upheld the revocation of protections for its FC5 variety.
Rather than relying entirely on open-market supply, these potatoes are often grown under contract, giving the company more control over both quality and availability.
Elsewhere, companies such as Intersnack Group are working closely with regional breeding programmes to secure varieties tailored to local conditions. Industry bodies like Potatoes USA continue to fund research aimed at improving everything from storage life to processing performance.
The spec sheet behind a bag of crisps
What processors are asking for is fairly clear, even if delivering it isn’t. Potatoes need low sugar levels to avoid dark frying, high dry matter for the right texture, and a uniform shape that works efficiently on high-speed slicing equipment. They also need to hold those characteristics over time, not just at harvest.
Storage performance is often where things fall down. If sugar levels creep up, chips darken. If that same process also increases acrylamide risk, the challenge becomes both a quality and a compliance issue. It’s one reason why so much breeding effort is now focused on what happens after the potato leaves the field, not just how it grows.
Sustainability is another growing factor. Higher-yielding varieties can help reduce land use, while better disease resistance can cut reliance on crop protection inputs. Even small gains in oil absorption during frying can add up at scale, both in cost terms and in environmental impact.
There’s also a quieter shift happening around differentiation. Varieties like Blackberry hint at opportunities beyond standard yellow crisps, particularly in premium or limited-edition lines where colour and provenance can be part of the appeal. The idea of visually distinctive or nutritionally enhanced potatoes has been explored before, but newer breeding efforts are tying those attributes more closely to processing performance.
For an ingredient that rarely makes it onto the front of pack, the potato is doing a lot of heavy lifting. And as the snacks industry continues to scale, the pressure on breeders to deliver something more precise, more resilient and more consistent is only going to increase – even as brands find themselves having to remind consumers that crisps are, in fact, still made from potatoes.
Studies:
Douches, D.S., Coombs, J.J., Behling, W.L.et al. Manistee, a new Round-White Early to Mid-Season Maturing Potato Variety with Excellent Long-Term Storage Potential. Am. J. Potato Res.102, 591–599 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-025-10014-w
Douches, D.S., Coombs, J.J., Behling, W.L.et al.Mackinaw: A Round White Potato Variety with Excellent Long-Term Storage Chip-Processing Quality and Resistance To Late Blight, Potato Virus Y, Golden Cyst Nematode and Tolerance To Common Scab.Am. J. Potato Res.102, 572–580 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-025-10011-z
Douches, D.S., Coombs, J.J., Behling, W.L.et al.Petoskey A High Gravity Chip-Processing Variety with Long-term Storage Potential and Resistance to Common Scab.Am. J. Potato Res.102, 581–590 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-025-10012-y
Douches, D.S., Coombs, J.J., Behling, W.L.et al.Huron Chipper a Broadly Adapted Chip-Processing Variety with Long-Term Storage Potential and Resistance to Late Blight and Common Scab.Am. J. Potato Res.(2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-025-10016-8
Douches, D.S., Coombs, J.J., Behling, W.L.et al.Blackberry, an Attractive Deep Purple Potato Variety with Resistance to Common Scab and Extreme Resistance to Potato Virus Y.Am. J. Potato Res.102, 600–608 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12230-025-10015-9
The MSU research was funded by the Michigan Potato Industry Commission, the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and Potatoes USA.
