Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Fast Food Fries Price Index
A fast food fries price index measures like-for-like frozen-fry pricing across quick-service products, plants, regions, and contract periods. MassGain links the finished-price basket with processing-potato markets, oil, energy, packaging, capacity, and freight so QSR buyers can separate true inflation from mix and regional effects.
Market Data
How to read this market
A fast food fries price index tracks like-for-like frozen-fry pricing for quick-service channels across defined cuts, coatings, grades, pack formats, supplier plants, freight bases, service levels, and contract periods. The market object is the finished QSR fry basket, not raw potatoes alone.
Use the index to compare supplier and regional movement while linking finished prices with upstream processing-potato markets and conversion inputs such as oil, energy, labor, packaging, cold storage, capacity, and freight. Keep product and customer mix consistent through time.
Data Module
Fast Food Fries Price Index
ObjectQSR frozen-fry finished-price benchmark
DimensionsCut, coating, grade, pack, plant, region
Cost linksPotato, oil, energy, labor, packaging, freight
Commercial useSupplier review and menu-cost planning
ControlsProduct mix, contract timing, service level
WatchpointRaw potato movement is only one price driver
Analysis
Why this matters
The index matters because finished fry pricing can diverge from raw-potato prices for long periods. Contract timing, plant capacity, oil, packaging, and freight can move independently or delay pass-through.
Mix is especially important in QSR portfolios. Growth in coated or specialty products can lift an average without equivalent inflation in standard straight-cut fries, so constituent-level analysis is essential.
Signal 01
Usable Crop Uncertainty Index
UCUI translates crop and market complexity into a simple uncertainty signal. Higher readings indicate greater uncertainty—not necessarily higher prices.
Understand uncertainty. Anticipate risk. Act earlier.
UCUI is designed to analyze potato-industry publications and data signals across regions, varieties, weather, disease, storage, supply, and demand.
WeatherHigh
DiseaseHigh
StorageMedium
SupplyMedium
Single-day snapshot based on a scan of 11,500+ web and social signals. Get historical and real-time data by clicking the button below.
The MassGain Daily
Today’s market analysis.
A daily editorial synthesis of physical potato data, crop signals, market reporting, and what participants should watch next.
September 16, 2026Latest MassGain publication
Potato market steady for now; Russia’s smaller crop is the salient risk
Spot prices are flat and USDA terminal reports read ‘market steady,’ but a renewed forecast for a smaller Russian harvest and recent regional harvest stress leave seasonal import timing and storage losses as the key uncertainty.
Signal 02
MassGain Potato Index
Independent physical-pricing intelligence and market-trend analysis for procurement, forecasting, contracting, and scenario planning.
Core Russet Carton Median
312.45 USD/MT
Latest qualifying physical-market observation
+4.75 (+1.55%)
Price discovery for the physical potato market
MPI is designed to track physical pricing data, price trends, deltas, and divergences across regions and potato types.
Series window45 days
Current public coverageCore russet cartons
Primary source basisQualifying USDA physical rows
UnitUSD per metric tonne
Single-day snapshot based on most recent 45 days worth of data. Limited to US Russets only. Get more complete, global data about all varieties by clicking the button below.
Signal 03
MassGain Spot Reference
An independent spot reference designed for price discovery, contract discussions, procurement comparisons, and risk modeling.
Russet Burbank — U.S. Midsize
305 USD/MT
Demonstration reference format
+1.6% WoW · Confidence: High
A trusted benchmark for pricing, contracts, and risk
MSR is intended to use real transactions and verifiable physical-market data to support negotiations, price checks, contracting, and risk models.
ProductRusset Burbank
SpecificationU.S. midsize, 40–70 count
Reference typePhysical spot benchmark
StatusIn development
Based on most recent 45 days worth of data. Limited to US Russets only. Get more complete, global data about all varities by clicking the button below. Full access also includes historical data -- including depreciated NYMEX/CBOE/EEX spot references -- projections, trends, and AI-driven insights.
The MassGain Product Ladder
From insight to intelligence to action
Four integrated products built for the physical potato market, delivered through public pages, reports, exports, dashboards, and API access.
1
Content
Original research, commentary, aggregated news, and market updates.
- What matters right now?
- What is happening out there?
2
UCUI™
Usable Crop Uncertainty Index: an AI-powered signal of crop risk and market uncertainty.
- Understand uncertainty
- Anticipate risk
- Act earlier
3
MPI™
MassGain Potato Index: independent physical-pricing intelligence and trend analysis.
- Price discovery
- Regional trends
- Procurement planning
4
MSR™
MassGain Spot Reference: an independent benchmark for price discovery and risk modeling.
- Contracts
- Negotiations
- Risk models
Content + UCUI + MPI + MSR + API access
Get historical series, regional detail, constituent data, exports, alerts, and direct data access.
Overview
Who is this for?
This page is for QSR procurement teams, food processors, distributors, and finance analysts that need a fast-food fries price index. The index tracks movement in the prices paid or quoted for defined frozen-fry products serving quick-service channels, with attention to cut, coating, grade, pack, supplier plant, freight, service, and contract period. MassGain supplies the upstream potato-market context needed to interpret the finished-product index without assuming raw potatoes explain every change.
Fast-food fry prices also reflect oil, energy, labor, packaging, cold storage, conversion yield, capacity, freight, and customer-specific service. MassGain separates those components, maps supplier plants to sourcing regions, and compares finished-price movement with contract resets and physical potato benchmarks. Procurement can identify whether a price change is market-wide or account-specific, finance can convert index movement into cents per serving, and commercial teams can assess pass-through and margin timing. The index should preserve product mix and weighting so a premium coated fry or one large account does not distort the broader result. MassGain does not disclose private contracts or define one universal restaurant price. It provides a transparent framework for tracking comparable finished-fry pricing and explaining which upstream and operating forces are driving the movement.
Use Case
A QSR portfolio index rises 6%, but MassGain shows most movement comes from coated specialty fries and one freight-heavy region. Standard straight-cut contracts serving the majority of restaurants rose only 2%. Procurement applies product- and region-specific assumptions rather than one systemwide increase.
FAQs
What does a fast-food fries price index measure?
It measures price movement across a defined basket of frozen-fry products, suppliers, regions, and contract periods.
Why can the index move differently from potato prices?
Oil, energy, packaging, labor, processing, capacity, freight, service, and contract timing also affect finished fries.
How does MassGain make the index relevant?
It preserves product mix and supplier exposure and connects finished prices with matched physical potato markets and cost components.
Put this market intelligence to work
Get historical data, regional detail, benchmarks, alerts, exports, and API access tailored to your procurement
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Data and Methodology
Professional market-data standards
MassGain is building transparent public market infrastructure. Each live metric will identify its date, unit, coverage, methodology, and source basis.
Data provenance
MassGain uses public, licensed, contributed, and independently derived physical-market information. Source availability and publication schedules vary.
Timing and revisions
Figures may reflect the latest available observation rather than a same-day transaction. Source data and MassGain calculations may be corrected, restated, or revised.
Not transactional pricing
MassGain figures are informational reference values and do not constitute executable bids, offers, settlements, or guarantees that a transaction can occur at the displayed value.
No individualized advice
Content and data are provided for informational and analytical purposes and do not constitute financial, investment, legal, trading, or individualized procurement advice.
Independent publication
Certain observations may be derived from USDA reports. MassGain is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USDA.
Commercial use and licensing
Public display does not grant rights to reproduce, redistribute, republish, or incorporate MassGain indices or references into commercial products or contracts without authorization.