10-Min. Merchandiser

Potato displays are rarely, if ever, placed in the front of the produce department. But there’s one time of year when it really pays off to promote your potatoes.

How about $150,000 in cash and prizes, for starters?  Per capita, Americans consume an average of 134 lbs. of potatoes per year, including fresh, frozen and dehydrated, as reported by the 2005 Economic Research Service, USDA. And because Idaho leads all potato states in production with over 300,000 acres, it’s no surprise the Idaho Potato Commission takes the lead in marketing, offering the 21^st Annual, 2012 Display Contest for Potato Lover’s Month. Idaho actually began the contest in 1939 – offering a brand-new Ford as a grand prize.

click image to zoomIdaho Potato CommissionThis winner from the 2011 Potato Lover's Month was a smaller display with a great theme. See http://retail.idahopotato.com/plm_2011for more photos of winners. Here’s what a produce manager should be doing now, to prepare for Potato Lover’s Month:

1) Consider how much contest display space you have, and perhaps what additional space can be obtained in the store. The bigger the ‘footprint’, the more possibilities you will have to achieve your goals.

2) Study former winner’s photos at the IPC website. What did they do well? What concepts can you learn from these? Takes notes and especially pay attention to the details.

3) Have a theme in mind. Could it be your display has a ‘Farm’ theme, complete with borrowed farm implements, bushel baskets or stuffed burlap bags? Use your imagination and solicit ideas from your crew. With a month to go until February, you still have ample time to gather what props you need.

4) Build the display as large as you possibly can. Without sacrificing excess shrink, sketch out how you want your display to look. Key aspects of any successful, prize-winning displays include having ample width, depth, and height. Also, keep it functional. Included but not limited in the judges criteria are these: Just how shoppable is the display? Is the display well-signed? Does the display shout ‘abundance’? Getting it all your ideas down on paper now, it’s easy to move things around. Not so, after the display is built.

5) Order merchandising materials. You can order display kits, which include signs, inflatable Mylar Spuddy-Buddies- and other necessities at the Idaho Potato Commission website or through your category manager. If you notice in the photos from former contest winners, some managers used several point-of-sale (POS) kits, depending on the size of their display. So speak up if you need more.  With your display theme in mind, this is also the time to construct other needed signs or props as well.

6) Two weeks prior to display building-order the necessary tie-in items (these are listed in the contest rules). Coordinate with your grocery manager to secure the volume and signing you will need.

7) Schedule for success. Work with your store manager now to make sure you have the man-hour or labor to complete the display task. Some displays won’t take as long to build but it typically requires at least an added boost in the schedule to build a special display for Potato Lover’s Month. One positive side to this is the display can remain in place for more than the required one-week, which will actually save on labor while pushing sales.

8) The week prior to building the Potato Lover’s Month display, place your potato orders. Space providing, bring in your needs a few days early. Be sure to include several varieties or packs for the best impression.

9) Build your display! Many high-profile displays are built while the store is still closed, for ease of construction. Take care to stack everything neatly, culling and straightening everything as you progress. Be careful and follow your store’s safety guidelines.

10) Take a good, final look at your creation. Compare what you’ve constructed with the contest rules to make certain you have complied with everything. Then-take plenty of pictures of the potato display from several angles. Review and send in the ones you like best before the March 16^th deadline.

Promoting potatoes is its own reward. However, it only makes sense that the number one vegetable commodity also sponsors the biggest, national display contest of the year, offering produce managers everywhere a chance to show off their creative merchandising skills and claim a part of the $150,000 in cash and prizes.

This makes the humble potato seem not only sexy, but downright “a-peeling”.   

About the author:

Armand Lobato's produce career spans more than 35 years as a merchandiser and buyer for retail and foodservice before joining the Idaho Potato Commission. He has a Bachelor of Business Management from the University of Phoenix. In addition to his 10-Minute Merchandiser series, he writes a weekly column for our sister publication, The Packer, and regularly contributes to his local newspaper.