Found in your local freezer aisle, Cavendish Farms fries have been made from spuds grown in Atlantic Canadian soil for over 40 years. Headquartered in Dieppe, New Brunswick and part of Irving Group of Companies, the first Cavendish Farms potatoes were grown on P.E.I. Now with facilities across Canada and in the U.S., Cavendish Farms is North America’s fourth largest processor of frozen potato products.

 

Appeeling acquisition

Family-owned Irving Group of Companies in New Brunswick dates back to 1882. In 1980, Irving Group established Cavendish Farms by acquiring and renaming C.M. Mclean potato and vegetable processing facility in P.E.I. The move added a food subsidiary to Irving’s wide range of business divisions. Plans for the business involved shifting away from frozen vegetables and fruits and focusing on potatoes.

Years later, Cavendish Farms made its first notable expansion by building a second processing facility on P.E.I. in 1996. But growth didn’t stop there. In 2001, the business purchased its first processing plant in the U.S. (located in North Dakota), making it a leading potato processor in North America. By 2006, Cavendish reached one billion pounds of products sold after 26 years in business.

 

 

 

Culinary innovation

With a goal of inspiring culinary innovation, Cavendish Farms formed a partnership with Holland College’s Culinary Institute of Canada. With support from the public sector and Cavendish Farms, the Culinary Institute opened Canada’s Smartest Kitchen in 2009, a research facility for creating and testing processed foods. On the lower level of the space is Cavendish Culinary Creation Centre, Cavendish Farms’ very own area to test and develop their line of products.

Also related to their commitment to innovation, Cavendish Farms built a biogas plant that runs on energy derived from organic waste. The facility was the largest in North America and the first of its kind in the potato industry.

 

 

 

 

Continued growth

Cavendish continued growth over the years. In 2009, it expanded into appetizers by acquiring a division of Omstead Foods in Ontario. The business also purchased a processing plant in Alberta from Maple Leaf and a storage facility in P.E.I. for its potato business. Needing to expand capacity further, Cavendish built a new facility to replace its space in Alberta in 2019 that nearly tripled production. The new plant can process 735 million pounds of potatoes and covers demand from Western Canada, the U.S., Japan, Singapore, Mexico, China and Thailand.

All of Cavendish’s processing facilities are strategically located in areas that can produce large amounts of quality potatoes and other vegetables.

 

 

Rooted strong

Today, Cavendish Farms continues to produce a variety of potato products and appetizers for your home and the food service industry. From headquarters in New Brunswick, Cavendish continues to operate five facilities across P.E.I., Ontario, Alberta and North Dakota.

Planted in Atlantic Canada, Cavendish Farms’ roots have worldwide reach after 42 years.

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