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Ancient Crunch, the parent company behind MASA Tortilla Chips and Vandy Potato Crisps, has entered the frozen food category with the launch of Vandy Classic Steak Fries.
Marking the brand's first venture outside the ambient snack fixture, the frozen line extension introduces organic cut potatoes cooked in 100% grass-fed beef tallow. The product enters the retail market with an exclusive national distribution listing across Sprouts Farmers Market stores, carrying a recommended retail price of $12.99.
The product development originated from agricultural supply chain dynamics following the previous year's potato harvest, which generated surplus tuber volumes exceeding the brand's batch chip processing capacity. Rather than offloading or discarding the excess agricultural output, Ancient Crunch formulated the raw stock into a frozen retail line, extending its ingredient-led brand positioning into supermarket freezer cabinets.
"We've always believed that great food starts with great ingredients, and Vandy's Classic Steak Fries are a perfect example of that," said Seth Goldstein and Steven Rofrano, co-founders of Ancient Crunch. "Our chips have always had that unmistakable french fry flavour, so making fries felt like a natural next step. We wanted to create a steak fry with a crispy outside, a fluffy centre and the kind of real potato flavour that makes you want another bite."
Formulation Architecture and Seed-Oil-Free Processing
The product build adapts the brand's established non-seed-oil frying profile into frozen prepared potatoes, avoiding conventional industrial vegetable and seed oils:
🍟 Original: Cut organic potatoes fried in 100% grass-fed beef tallow, delivering a golden crust and fluffy interior with a pure, potato-forward taste profile.
🧂 Salt & Pepper: Organic steak-cut potatoes cooked in grass-fed beef tallow and seasoned with cracked black pepper and sea salt.
By utilising grass-fed animal fats rather than canola, sunflower, or soybean oils, the formulation targets consumer scrutiny surrounding ultra-processed ingredients and industrial seed oils. The use of tallow also provides thermal stability and distinct organoleptic properties, engineered to yield a crisp exterior texture without residual greasy mouthfeel after home baking or air frying.
Stretch into Frozen Grocery
The commercial launch of Vandy Classic Steak Fries illustrates how premium natural snack producers are executing category stretch to capture adjacent eating occasions.
Historically, the frozen potato fixture in North American grocery retail has been dominated by legacy brands and conventional private-label lines that predominantly utilise refined vegetable oils. In recent trading periods, natural channel shoppers have demonstrated an appetite for traditional animal cooking fats, including tallow, lard, and butter, creating trade-up opportunities within staple frozen categories.
Securing an exclusive nationwide listing with Sprouts Farmers Market provides Ancient Crunch with immediate exposure to health-conscious and clean-label shoppers across more than 400 retail locations. The single-retailer exclusivity allows the manufacturer to evaluate sales velocity and freezer-door turns before contemplating broader mainstream grocery expansion.
Vandy Classic Steak Fries in Original and Salt & Pepper varieties are rolling out to Sprouts Farmers Market stores nationwide at an RRP of $12.99.
Ancient Crunch Enters Frozen Aisle with Beef Tallow Vandy Steak Fries
October 21, 2026
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