Sanford Gleddie
Executive Vice-President of Sales, Marketing, and Business Development at The Little Potato Company
The Little Potato Company introduced North America to Little Potatoes and is now celebrating 30 years of helping busy families create little moments of happiness.
Today’s busy families and individuals want foods that are both healthy and quick to prepare. Getting meals on the table means juggling multiple priorities, from nutrition and taste to ease and convenience.
“It’s no longer an ‘or,’” says Sanford Gleddie, Executive Vice-President of Sales, Marketing, and Business Development at The Little Potato Company. “It has to be convenience and healthy whole food, not or healthy whole food. The reality today is that both parents are working and there’s a strong need for easy, fast, but still healthy whole food. That was really the fit and the opportunity for this product.”
The Little Potato Company specializes in, naturally, little potatoes — fully mature Creamer potatoes specifically bred to be small.
An industry pioneer and category creator
The Little Potato Company began in 1996 in Edmonton, Alta., on a one-acre plot of land, launched by a Dutch immigrant, Jacob van der Schaaf, and his daughter, Angela Santiago. In northern Europe, little potatoes were fairly common, but they weren’t in Canada. And Little Potatoes have big appeal: they need no peeling, cook quickly, and are nutritious and delicious.
The Little Potato Company created the Little Potato category in North America, and, 30 years later, has the highest share of branded potato sales here. It’s also the largest Little Potato grower in the world.
“The purpose of the company is ‘Feed the World, Better,’” says Gleddie. “It’s about feeding the world better with an easy, convenient, healthy, whole food that the whole family can love.”
Healthy, convenient meal solutions
Besides breeding a potato with thin skin that requires no peeling and cooks quickly, The Little Potato Company has taken things a step further to meet modern consumer needs by selling the potatoes pre-washed and with a variety of innovative ready-to-cook product formats for busy families. These include microwave-ready kits and oven and grill-ready kits that come with their own seasoning packs. The products can be quickly tossed in the microwave, into the oven, or onto the grill, helping families prepare nutritious meals with less time and effort, giving them more time to spend with their families.
“Any products we develop have to be fast, easy, and convenient, with a really clean ingredient list,” says Gleddie. “It all comes back to easy, convenient, and healthy.”
The company also prioritizes sustainability through practices like integrated pest management, crop rotation, and supporting pollinator habitats.
A vision for the future of food
Looking to the future, The Little Potato Company is committed to continued innovation.
“The biggest challenge that we need to face in agriculture and food production is sustainable regenerative production in an evolving and constantly changing climate,” says Gleddie. “We have all the ingredients we need here in Canada to continue to be a world leader in food production, but we have to constantly be looking at more sustainable production methods. That one word from our purpose, ‘better,’ drives all of our sustainability efforts.”
Learn more about The Little Potato Company’s 30-year journey, products, and purpose-driven mission at littlepotatoes.com.
