NEW YORK, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Lamb Weston ( LW )

shareholders love the French fry maker's products but are

unhappy with management, activist investor Jana Partners told

the company's board on Monday, signaling that it may launch a

board fight later this year.

The investment firm, which owns more than 5% of the roughly

$9 billion company, polled Lamb Weston's ( LW ) top 70 shareholders,

asking them to rate the company's management team, governance,

operational execution and product quality on a scale of 1 to 10,

with 10 being the strongest.

"Ratings for nearly all key areas including leadership,

operational execution and capital allocation were extremely

weak, product quality stood out in sharp contrast and was nearly

a 10," Jana Partners' managing partner wrote to the board. The

scores highlight "how severely the Company has squandered its

leading market position and reputation," the letter continued.

The letter comes roughly one month after Lamb Weston ( LW )

replaced its chief executive officer after the company reported

weaker earnings and cut its outlook, pushing its share price

down. Over the last 52 weeks, shares have fallen 41%.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.

Jana previously said it wanted the company to consider a

sale and on Monday said it is "committed to providing

shareholders with an alternative to the status quo at the

company's" 2025 annual meeting.