Who makes the world's frozen french fries?
The frozen french fry industry is dominated by a handful of very large processors. A few global players supply most of the world's quick-service restaurants and retail freezers, competing on capacity, quality consistency and relationships with the big restaurant chains. This page profiles the leaders on their own published figures. For a side-by-side table of all six, see our comparison of McCain, Lamb Weston, Simplot, Aviko, Agristo and Farm Frites; for the size and trade flows of the market they serve, see frozen french fry market size.
A note on figures: only Lamb Weston publishes audited results. McCain, Simplot, Agristo and Farm Frites are privately held, and Aviko reports inside its parent cooperative. Figures below come from company statements, SEC filings, and trade-press reporting of filed annual accounts, each dated. Revenues are shown in each company's reporting currency and are not converted.
- > C$16bn
- McCain annual sales (Nov 2025)
- $6.61bn
- Lamb Weston net sales, FY2026
- €1.65bn
- Aviko net turnover, 2025
- €879m
- Farm Frites revenue, 2025
The North American leaders
McCain Foods (Canada, privately held and family-owned) is the world's largest producer of frozen potato products. It reports annual sales above C$16 billion, about 22,000 employees, 49 production facilities on six continents, and products in restaurants and stores in more than 160 countries (McCain, November 2025). McCain says one in four fries in the world is a McCain fry. Founded in 1957 in Florenceville, New Brunswick, it remains family-controlled. Recent moves include an agreement to acquire Penobscot McCrum's plant in Washburn, Maine (November 2025).
Lamb Weston (US, NYSE: LW, headquartered in Eagle, Idaho) is the only one of the majors that files audited results. In fiscal 2026 (53 weeks to 31 May 2026) it reported net sales of $6.61 billion, split between North America ($4.40bn) and International ($2.22bn), and net income of $290 million. It runs 25 production facilities in eight countries and employs about 10,000 people. Lamb Weston has been restructuring: it closed its Connell, Washington plant in 2024, is closing its Munro plant in Argentina, and in June 2026 announced its intention to close its Broekhuizenvorst plant in the Netherlands.
J.R. Simplot (US, family-owned and privately held, Boise, Idaho) does not publish revenue. Simplot says it created the first commercially viable frozen french fries, in the late 1940s. Simplot manufactures and supplies Ore-Ida products for Kraft Heinz, which owns the brand, from the Ontario, Oregon plant it bought in 2022. On 31 October 2025, Simplot completed its acquisition of Belgium's Clarebout, adding five European sites and taking it to 23 food production facilities worldwide.
The European leaders
Europe's leadership reflects Belgium and the Netherlands' position as the world's top fry exporters.
Aviko belongs to Royal Cosun, a Dutch cooperative of about 11,000 growers. It processes more than 2 million tonnes of potatoes a year at 12 production locations in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland and China, and sells in more than 110 countries. Aviko describes itself as Europe's largest producer of potato products for the out-of-home segment and one of the top five global market leaders. Trade press citing its accounts reports net turnover of €1.65 billion for 2025. In February 2026 it took full control of Spain's Eurofrits.
Agristo (Belgium, family-owned, headquartered in Wielsbeke) runs plants in Harelbeke, Nazareth and Wielsbeke in Belgium and Tilburg in the Netherlands, with capacity it describes as approaching 1 million tonnes. Trade press reported turnover of €1.34 billion in its latest filed accounts (December 2025). Agristo broke ground in July 2026 on its first US plant, in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Farm Frites (Netherlands, family business founded in 1971, headquartered in Oudenhoorn) processes more than 1.5 million tonnes of potatoes a year and is active in more than 100 countries. Trade press citing its annual accounts reports revenue of €878.7 million for 2025, with 48% of sales outside the EU. A new plant at Dooen, Victoria, Australia, backed by the state government, is due to begin production in 2027.
Cavendish Farms (Canada), Agrarfrost (Germany) and AGRANA (Austria) are among the other significant processors.
Who supplies foodservice and the quick-service chains?
Foodservice is where most frozen fries are eaten, so supply contracts with the big chains matter more than retail brands. Contracts are rarely published, but several relationships are on public record:
| Supplier | What is disclosed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Lamb Weston | McDonald's was ~15% of net sales in FY2026 (15% FY2025, 14% FY2024); its ten largest customers were ~50% of net sales | Lamb Weston 10-K, FY2026 |
| J.R. Simplot | Supplier of fries to McDonald's since a handshake deal with Ray Kroc, a relationship that "continues to this day" | Simplot, company history |
| McCain Foods | Named a main supplier by Arcos Dorados (largest McDonald's franchisee in Latin America); McDonald's Canada fries sourced from Canadian potatoes via a McCain partnership | Arcos Dorados 20-F FY2025; McCain, 2022 |
| Aviko | Describes itself as Europe's largest producer of potato products for the out-of-home segment | Aviko, company profile |
Beyond these, Agristo and Farm Frites sell heavily to foodservice and private label but do not name chain customers. Any buyer shortlisting fry suppliers will usually benchmark the big three (McCain, Lamb Weston, Simplot) against a European specialist such as Aviko, Agristo or Farm Frites, on cut specification, holding time, coating and price per case.
How the landscape is shifting
Three dynamics define the current picture. Consolidation continues: Simplot's purchase of Clarebout, Aviko's takeover of Eurofrits and McCain's Penobscot McCrum deal all buy capacity and reach. Capacity is moving closer to demand: McCain is expanding in Brazil, Agristo is building in North Dakota and Farm Frites in Australia, while Lamb Weston is closing older plants. And cost pressure is visible in the numbers: Lamb Weston is running a savings programme targeting at least $250 million a year by fiscal 2028, and Farm Frites' 2025 profit fell by about 30% on flat revenue.
Meanwhile, processors in China, India and Egypt are adding lower-cost supply, especially for Asian and Middle Eastern buyers. See top frozen french fry exporting and importing countries for the trade data.
Methodology: company figures are taken from company statements and SEC filings, or from named trade-press reporting of filed annual accounts (Boerenbusiness, Nieuwe Oogst), each dated in Sources. Revenues are in each company's reporting currency and cover different periods, so they should not be ranked against one another precisely. Simplot's revenue is not publicly disclosed. Supplier relationships are listed only where a company or its customer has disclosed them.
