There’s great news coming out of the Idaho potato fields for retail directors, buyers and produce managers. The Idaho potato crop yield is outstanding, showing excellent quality and size thanks to ideal growing conditions.

With produce gross profit challenges, this is good news for retailers needing to achieve those budgets — and Idaho potatoes are a perfect item to promote in the weekly ad flyers.

The Idaho Potato Commission has been promoting Idaho potatoes since 1937 and is one of the most respected organizations in the industry today. Expressing a superior quality potato to consumers has always been the utmost importance of Idaho growers. During many years of serving the produce industry, the IPC has brought much to the table, especially for retailers. Not only has the IPC created an exquisite image of the Russet potato, but it also opened up a corridor throughout the produce industry by connecting growers and retailers closer together.

How will you respond and take advantage of the large production of Idaho potatoes this year? There is a produce merchandising expression I often use: “If you only want to sell a small amount of product, display it in a two-square-foot space. But if you want to sell mega-massive amounts, display it all the way to the moon.”

No company or organization can do everything themselves. It takes teaming up with others to grow and expand business more rapidly and efficiently. We always associated ourselves with commodity board groups and participated in their many merchandising programs that consisted of display tie-ins, consumer coupons and special ad promotions.

So, what should the stores promote? What potato sizes should be advertised? Is it the bags or loose size counts? We asked Ross Johnson of the IPC that question.

"One of the struggles for category managers this year is going to be lapping last year's dollars in the category," said Johnson, vice president of retail and international at the Idaho Potato Commission. "Especially given the current market for fresh potatoes, the competition to win customers with hot potato ads is going to be fierce this year. The best way to do that is to trade their typical five-pound customer up to a 10-pound bag or an eight-pound jumbo option. The retailer gets the benefit of more dollars on the purchase, and our growers will appreciate retailers helping us move through our volume. The crop from Idaho this year can support either of these plans."

We also asked a retail expert who is highly skilled in the area of in-store merchandising for his thoughts on selling Idaho potatoes.

“When I worked as a produce field merchandiser for a major grocery chain, I visited every store in my district and personally planned the Idaho potato displays with the produce managers," said Richard DelGizzi, retail merchandising adviser in Portland, ME. "Before I left the store, we had the display location, type, size and case amounts all in place ready to roll. I also gave each store an Idaho potato POS kit to decorate the displays for a finishing touch. When the potatoes arrived in the stores, everything fell into place easy and fast. At the end of every promotion, our Idaho potato sales increased up to 24 percent.”

Don’t make selling complicated. Boost your Idaho potato volume by sticking to some simple merchandising methods in the produce departments.

Here are four basic tips to accomplish it:

1. Stock it Massive: The first rule in moving huge amounts of Idaho potatoes is to set up large, massive and aggressive displays fully stocked with an abundant of product to do the job. Give it plenty of muscle.
2. Use End Caps: A prime location to display produce is on the end caps. These are highly visible areas and heavily shopped by customers. They are excellent locations to set up massive displays of bagged Idaho potatoes. As Johnson suggested, move up to the 10-pound bag for the larger sale. The larger bag on an end cap will have greater selling power.
3. Go For Incremental Sales: Raise your average sales volume. Do some upselling by building large wing displays of loose Idaho potatoes alongside an end cap. Use empty original potato cartons for the base and stack them against the side of the end cap with expert workmanship.
4. Add a Waterfall: Place empty original Idaho potato cartons or bales in front of your regular display with the labels facing up. All cartons should be the same brand to maintain neat uniformity. This method spills bags or loose potatoes onto the cartons for that extra selling power. The waterfall draws attention to shoppers and creates buying excitement.

Put some clout into those displays by stocking them with plenty of product. Now, let’s support those growers and increase your gross profit by selling a massive amount of Idaho potatoes.