Three secrets for selling gourmet spuds
Three secrets for selling gourmet spuds
With more than 100 years of retail merchandising, buying and category management experience among them, the Idaho Potato Commission retail promotion directors know their stuff. Here are their top tips for boosting sales of “gourmet potato” 24-ounce pack sizes.
1. Focus on the right product mix
The number of companies offering gourmet potatoes continues to grow each year, and retailers benefit from the fact that these mini offerings don’t cannibalize russet, red or yellow varieties. In fact, IPC data shows that when a customer visits a store for a russet ad and sees properly merchandised gourmet potato pack sizes, both russet and gourmet potato packs are likely to end up in the shopping cart.
“The retail promotion directors, employed by the IPC, are armed with Nielsen data and can drill down to your specific market data to help you decide on the right mix for your category,” said Ross Johnson, IPC vice president of retail. “Many retailers know how their specific category is performing, but knowing the trends in the surrounding market can really help drive decisions.”
IPC’s retail promotion directors are on the road and in stores three weeks a month. “Our recommendations are driven by facts for the total category, and we understand how to look at the consumer preferences in different regions across the country,” said Matt Zapczynski, Northeast/Midwest retail promotion director. “We focus on understanding the retailer’s goals and then help craft a plan for the category to help achieve those goals.”
2. Stick with a single brand
When an IPC retail promotion director walks into a fresh potato department and sees what looks like a yard sale of brand offerings for gourmet potatoes, he knows just what the retailer needs to do to drive higher sales. By narrowing the focus to one brand — particularly one that leverages the Idaho potato logo — the retailer can help customers feel more confident about the product they purchased. That, in turn, makes it easier for shoppers to come back to the category again and again.
IPC has done store tests for this theory, and they have delivered amazing results by adding additional dollars to the potato category. “When there are too many products/brands to choose from, the consumer will become confused and walk away from the category without making a purchase,” said IPC retail promotion director-Southeast/Central Mark Daniels. “But when there’s one consistent high-quality brand available, the shopper knows the retailer has already done the hard work of selecting the best gourmet potato product out there, and the consumer is encouraged to make the additional purchase.”
3. Merchandise correctly
For the past 10 years, the gourmet potato category has continued to help grow overall dollars in the potato department year over year. Merchandising these small spuds properly is the best way to capitalize on consumers’ curiosity for them.
“Placing gourmet potatoes in ads doesn’t drive additional foot traffic to the store because the category is still relatively new,” said IPC retail promotion director-West/Canada Patrick Mills. “But merchandising gourmet potatoes by placing them near an advertised russet, while having the gourmet potatoes on a temporary price reduction in-store, can drive significant incremental dollars to the overall category.”
