Mart Frozen Foods, a subsidiary of The Mart Group, recently cut the ribbon on a $65 million high-tech food manufacturing facility in Rupert. Located in Southern Idaho’s “Magic Valley,” the new 100,000-square-foot plant produces and packages frozen, fully baked Idaho potatoes known as OH!Tatoes.
The new facility is located adjacent to The Mart Group’s headquarters, bringing the company’s total employment in Rupert to more than 230 people. The new Mart Frozen Foods facility will directly create 80 full-time jobs, and have an estimated annual economic impact of $11.15 million.
“Through innovated technology, OH!Tatoes has perfected the art of freezing fresh Idaho potatoes so consumers can enjoy fluffy, flavorful baked potatoes in minutes,” said Julian Critchfield, president and CEO of The Mart Group. “This expansion allows us to vertically integrate to provide the unmatched quality of baked Idaho potatoes in an easier format, with a longer shelf life, than ever before.”
OH!Tatoes will be the first-of-its-kind whole baked frozen potato available to consumers in North America at stores including Publix, Harris Teeter and Associated Foods.
Home to food giants Chobani, Clif Bar, McCain Foods and others, Southern Idaho’s eight-county “Magic Valley” region leads the state’s agribusiness industry – contributing nearly half of Idaho’s nearly $11.3 billion in annual agricultural receipts. In addition to superior natural resources, the region offers food companies the infrastructure to process, package and transport agriculture products. In 2015, Southern Idaho became the nation’s fourth and smallest region to earn the prestigious Federal Manufacturing Community Designation in the Food category.
About The Mart Group
The Mart Group is a family of grower-owned operations delivering sustainably farmed potato products to grocers, distributors, and wholesalers across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The organization was founded in 1980 and has its roots in several successful farming families and their traditions dating back to the 1950s, all with experience in feeding families around North America.
