Ancient Crunch — the company behind MASA Tortilla Chips and Vandy Potato Crisps — is crossing out of the chip aisle for the first time with the launch of Vandy Classic Steak Fries, a frozen SKU available exclusively at Sprouts Farmers Market locations nationwide at a suggested retail price of $12.99.
What's in the Bag
The fries are made with organic potatoes and cooked in 100% grass-fed beef tallow — positioning them squarely in the fast-growing "clean ingredient" set that has drawn consumer attention away from conventional seed-oil-fried frozen sides. The line launches in two SKUs: Original and Salt & Pepper. Ancient Crunch co-founders Seth Goldstein and Steven Rofrano describe the product's target texture as a crispy exterior with a fluffy center, leaning into the same potato-forward flavor profile that differentiates Vandy chips on the snack shelf.
The origin story is supply-chain practical: last year's potato harvest yielded more raw material than the brand could absorb for chip production. Rather than absorb the loss, the team pivoted toward product development, channeling the surplus into a frozen format that carries the same ingredient standards as the core snack line.
Frozen as a Growth Lane
The frozen potato category is a high-volume segment in both retail grocery and foodservice channels. For a brand moving from the snack aisle into the freezer case, Sprouts is a deliberate fit — its shopper base skews toward natural and organic, making it a lower-friction launch environment for a $12.99 frozen fry than a conventional mass or club channel would be. The exclusive retail arrangement also lets Ancient Crunch manage velocity data and inventory before any broader distribution push.
For convenience retailers tracking better-for-you trends across foodservice and grab-and-go categories, the tallow-fried positioning is worth noting. Consumer interest in animal-fat cooking — driven partly by social media and partly by broader seed-oil skepticism — has surfaced in foodservice menus and packaged goods alike. Operators sourcing frozen sides for back-of-house foodservice programs may increasingly field requests for non-seed-oil alternatives as that conversation moves from niche to mainstream.
Ancient Crunch's move also reflects a broader pattern of snack brands leveraging existing ingredient relationships and brand equity to extend into adjacent frozen and refrigerated sets — a strategy that puts pressure on legacy frozen-food players while giving specialty grocers differentiated SKUs. For channel observers tracking snack and packaged-food innovation at retail, Vandy's frozen debut is a signal that ingredient-led snack brands see the freezer aisle as the next frontier, not just a backup option for excess inventory.
Vandy Classic Steak Fries are available now at Sprouts Farmers Market. Shoppers can use the store locator at VandyCrisps.com to find participating locations.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
