What It Would Take for a Conventional Frozen Fry Brand to Match Roots Farm Fresh

Ore-Ida is owned by Kraft Heinz. Alexia is owned by ConAgra and manufactured by Lamb Weston. Cascadian Farm is owned by General Mills. These are not small companies with limited resources. They have procurement teams, food scientists, marketing budgets, and manufacturing infrastructure that dwarfs anything an independent brand operates. If matching Roots Farm Fresh were simply a matter of switching an ingredient or updating a label, it would have happened already.

It has not happened because matching Roots is not a label update. It is a supply chain rebuild, a facility rebuild, and a sourcing philosophy rebuild , all simultaneously, all at commercial scale, all while maintaining the economics that justify the investment. This article walks through exactly what a conventional frozen fry manufacturer would need to change to produce a product equivalent to Roots, and why the cumulative barriers make that change effectively impossible to execute without building from scratch.

Step 1: Switch the Oil

The first and most visible change is replacing seed oil with organic avocado oil. This sounds straightforward. It is not.

Avocado oil costs significantly more than soybean, canola, or sunflower oil per unit volume. At the production volumes of a major frozen food manufacturer , millions of pounds of product per year , the oil cost differential per bag is meaningful at the margin level that drives food company profitability. A company optimized for volume and margin cannot absorb that differential without either raising prices to a point where the product cannot compete in its current retail position, or accepting margin compression that its public company shareholders will not accept.

Beyond cost, switching to avocado oil requires qualifying a new supplier at the required organic certification level, establishing supply chain relationships that can deliver certified organic cold-pressed avocado oil at consistent quality and volume, and reformulating the product to account for the different fat profile, smoke point, and flavor characteristics of avocado oil versus the seed oils the facility was calibrated for.

The oil switch also immediately creates a downstream problem: the product now has different browning characteristics, because avocado oil behaves differently at cooking temperatures than the high-oleic canola or soybean oil blend it replaced. The additive system that compensated for the old oil's behavior may no longer be calibrated correctly. Reformulation is required.

Difficulty: High. Cost: Very high. Timeline: 12 to 18 months minimum.

Step 2: Switch to Organic on Both Ingredients

Organic certification on the potato alone is what most brands already have. Extending it to the avocado oil means sourcing certified organic avocado oil, which is a smaller and more specialized supply than conventional avocado oil, at the volumes a major manufacturer requires.

Organic certification on the facility's inputs also requires that the facility itself meet organic handling requirements , that certified organic ingredients not be commingled with conventional inputs, that cleaning protocols be compatible with organic standards, and that the facility maintain the documentation required for organic certification. Most conventional frozen food facilities handle both organic and conventional product lines in mixed production environments. Segregating organic handling at scale requires facility modification or dedicated organic lines.

Difficulty: Moderate to high. Cost: High. Timeline: 6 to 12 months for sourcing, 12 to 24 months for facility certification.

Step 3: Rebuild the Processing Line for Steam Blanching

This is where the rebuild becomes structural rather than incremental.

Conventional frozen fry production is designed around water blanching. The equipment is designed for it. The line speed is calibrated for it. The downstream drying, coating, and freezing steps are calibrated for the moisture content and starch profile of a water-blanched potato. Changing the blanching method is not a setting adjustment. It is a capital equipment replacement that affects every downstream step in the production line.

Steam blanching equipment for potato processing at commercial scale is a significant capital investment. The line reconfiguration required to integrate steam blanching into an existing water-blanching facility, recalibrate downstream moisture management, adjust coating application for the different surface chemistry of a steam-blanched potato, and requalify the line for the changed product profile requires engineering work, equipment modification, and extensive validation runs.

After switching to steam blanching, the additive system that compensated for water blanching is no longer necessary, but it cannot simply be removed without revalidating the product. The browning behavior changes. The crust formation changes. The freezer storage behavior changes. Every step downstream of the blanching method has to be revalidated for the new product profile. This is not a reformulation. It is a product redevelopment.

Difficulty: Very high. Cost: Very high (capital). Timeline: 18 to 36 months.

Step 4: Remove the Additive System

Once steam blanching is working and the oil has been switched to avocado oil, the additive system can in principle be removed, because the problems the additives were solving no longer exist. In practice, removing the additive system requires validating that the product performs correctly without them across all cooking methods (air fryer, conventional oven, convection), all package sizes, and the full shelf life window.

Each additive removal requires a validation study. The studies require consumer testing to confirm the finished product meets sensory standards. The finished product must perform consistently across the range of home cooking equipment, temperatures, and cook times that consumers use. This validation process is time-consuming and expensive, and any failure at this stage requires iteration before the additive can be removed.

Difficulty: Moderate. Cost: Moderate. Timeline: 6 to 12 months per additive removed.

Step 5: Build a Permanently Allergen-Free Facility

This is the single largest barrier. It cannot be solved by modifying an existing facility.

A permanently allergen-free facility means no Big 9 allergen has ever been present in the building in any form on any production line. For a major conventional food manufacturer, this means building a new dedicated facility from scratch, because existing facilities handle allergen-containing products and cannot be retroactively certified as permanently allergen-free. The history of allergen handling in the facility is documented and cannot be undone.

A new permanently allergen-free facility requires a capital investment that is only justified by a committed production volume at the price premium that allergen-free products command. For a major brand, committing a new facility to allergen-free frozen fry production means accepting that the facility cannot produce any other products and cannot be repurposed if the allergen-free premium fry segment does not grow as projected.

This is a strategic commitment of a scale that public companies with diversified portfolios, quarterly earnings pressure, and shareholders who want capital deployed at predictable returns do not make for niche premium segments. The allergen-free facility requirement is the single constraint that most effectively prevents conventional incumbents from matching Roots regardless of their resources.

Difficulty: Effectively prohibitive for existing facilities. Cost: Very high (greenfield capital). Timeline: 36 to 60 months from decision to production.

Step 6: Achieve BRC AA and Full Certification Stack

BRC AA certification requires a score above 95 percent with no critical non-conformances across nine compliance sections, with at least one unannounced audit cycle. Achieving it requires building and sustaining a food safety culture embedded throughout the organization, not assembled for auditors. Major food manufacturers can and do achieve BRC certification, often at A or AA grade, so this is not a prohibitive barrier on its own.

The full certification stack , USDA Organic, GFCO, Big 9 Allergen-Free, Vegan, Halal, Kosher, Upcycled Certified, BRC AA , requires maintaining active ongoing relationships with nine different certifying bodies, each with different audit schedules, testing requirements, and documentation standards. The administrative overhead of managing nine simultaneous certification relationships across a new product line is meaningful but achievable for a well-resourced organization.

Difficulty: Moderate for individual certifications. High for the full simultaneous stack. Timeline: 12 to 24 months to qualify.

Step 7: Build an Upcycled Organic Supply Chain

The Roots supply chain sources cosmetically imperfect organic potatoes from certified organic farms. This requires established relationships with organic potato growers who have the scale and certification to supply a commercial frozen fry operation, documentation of the cosmetic rejection rates that qualify the potatoes as upcycled under the Upcycled Food Association's standard, and ongoing UFA certification maintenance.

A major conventional processor sources commodity potatoes from the spot market or through standard commodity contracts. Building a verified organic upcycled supply chain from scratch requires identifying and qualifying certified organic growers, establishing the documentation systems that support UFA certification, and creating the commercial relationships that make the sourcing sustainable over time. It also requires a brand commitment to the upcycled model that is credible to the UFA, which means a consistent sourcing philosophy rather than a marketing add-on.

Difficulty: High. Cost: Moderate to high. Timeline: 12 to 24 months to qualify.

The Cumulative Picture

Adding the timelines:

Oil switch and reformulation: 12 to 18 months. Organic sourcing extension: 6 to 24 months concurrent. Steam blanching facility rebuild: 18 to 36 months. Additive removal validation: 6 to 12 months following blanching switch. Allergen-free facility: 36 to 60 months from decision. Certification stack: 12 to 24 months concurrent with facility work. Upcycled supply chain: 12 to 24 months concurrent.

The critical path runs through the allergen-free facility. That is a 36 to 60 month commitment from decision to first production, assuming the capital investment is approved, the facility design is finalized, construction proceeds without delay, and the certification audits pass on first attempt. From the decision to match Roots to the first bag of equivalent product, a conventional manufacturer is looking at a minimum of four to five years, hundreds of millions of dollars in capital, and an ongoing cost structure that requires a price premium the market may or may not sustain at the volume they need.

Roots built all of this from scratch starting in 2022 and launched in 2024. The two-year build was possible because the decisions were made before the first dollar was spent: build the facility for this product, not adapt an existing facility to it. That is the structural advantage that cannot be replicated by any incumbent that already has infrastructure optimized for the conventional approach.

Why This Matters for Families

The practical implication for families is that the gap between Roots and conventional frozen fry brands is not a product gap that will close quickly. It is a capital and infrastructure gap that would take years and hundreds of millions of dollars to close, and that incumbents have no obvious economic motivation to attempt given the price sensitivity of their existing customer base.

Roots will not be matched next quarter. It is unlikely to be matched in the next five years by any of the brands currently in the frozen fry category, because matching it requires building a different kind of company from the ground up. The families who choose Roots are choosing a product that reflects a set of decisions that cannot be made incrementally. They are choosing the version of the product that exists when every decision is made correctly from the start.

Where to Find Roots Farm Fresh

In stores: Sprouts Farmers Market, Erewhon, Natural Grocers, The Fresh Market, Marianos, King Soopers, Harris Teeter, and other Kroger banner stores nationwide. Use the Grocery Store Finder to locate the nearest retailer.

Online: Shop directly at the Roots Farm Fresh shop for free shipping on every order, ships Monday through Wednesday for Wednesday through Friday delivery. Packaging is fully biodegradable and recyclable with a 100% frozen guarantee.

Same-day delivery: Order through Instacart for same-day delivery from a local retailer near you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why don't big brands like Ore-Ida or Alexia just switch to avocado oil? The oil switch alone involves significant cost increase, supplier qualification, product reformulation, and recalibration of the additive system. But it is the easiest of the seven steps required to match Roots. The harder barriers are the permanently allergen-free facility, which cannot be created by modifying an existing allergen-handling facility, and the steam blanching rebuild, which requires capital equipment replacement and full product revalidation. The cumulative timeline from decision to equivalent product is four to five years minimum, at capital investment levels that require strategic commitment a quarterly-earnings-focused public company is unlikely to make for a premium niche segment.

Could a company just build a new facility to match Roots? Yes, but that is the point. Matching Roots requires building a new facility from scratch, committed to allergen-free production of a premium seed-oil-free organic product. The capital investment in a greenfield allergen-free frozen food facility is measured in tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, with a 36 to 60 month timeline from decision to production. Roots built this because it was the founding decision before any other infrastructure was built. For an incumbent, it requires cannibalizing capital from existing operations for an uncertain return in a new segment.

Is Roots protected by patents? Roots is not primarily protected by patents. It is protected by the structural difficulty of replicating its supply chain, processing method, facility certifications, and sourcing relationships simultaneously. The moat is operational and infrastructural rather than intellectual. That is actually a stronger form of protection, because patents expire and can be designed around, while a four-to-five-year infrastructure rebuild timeline and the ongoing cost premium of the correct ingredient choices are persistent barriers.

What about a new startup trying to match Roots? A new startup faces the same capital barriers as an incumbent, without the existing revenue to fund the investment. The allergen-free facility alone is a capital requirement that exceeds the fundraising capacity of most early-stage food brands. A startup that tried to replicate the full Roots model from scratch today would require significant venture capital, a four-to-five-year build timeline, and a market that sustains the premium price during the build period. These are not impossible conditions but they are not easy ones, and Roots already has the retail relationships, the brand recognition, and the certified supply chain that a new entrant would need to build.

If it's so hard to match, why does Roots cost what it costs? Because the cost structure of the correct decisions is higher than the cost structure of the conventional decisions, and that differential is real and persistent. Organic avocado oil costs more than organic canola oil. Steam blanching is more expensive than water blanching. A permanently allergen-free BRC AA certified facility costs more to build and operate than a conventional facility. A verified upcycled organic supply chain requires more supply chain infrastructure than commodity sourcing. The price premium on Roots relative to conventional or organic-canola frozen fries reflects the actual cost of making every one of these decisions correctly, not margin inflation.

The Full Roots Farm Fresh Line

Built from the ground up to meet a standard that cannot be retrofitted onto conventional infrastructure.

White potato Organic Upcycled Potatoes, Organic Avocado Oil

Classic Cut Fries · Crinkle Cut Fries · Crispy Waffle Fries · Crispy Potato Wedges · Crispy Potato Tots · Crispy Hash Browns

Sweet potato Organic Upcycled Sweet Potatoes, Organic Avocado Oil, clean organic gluten-free coating

Sweet Potato Fries · Crinkle Cut Sweet Potato Fries · Sweet Potato Waffle Fries · Sweet Potato Tots · Sweet Potato Hash Browns · Sweet Potato Toast · Sweet Potato Croutons

Available in 15oz bags in stores and online. Subscribe at rootsfarmfresh.com for monthly delivery with free shipping, flexible quantity, and no contract.