George Wooten, president of Wayne E. Bailey, headquartered in Chadbourn, NC, told The Produce News that the company’s launch of its new “George Foods” rebranding initiative was strongly received at the Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit in October.

Wayne E. Bailey’s ‘George Foods’ line of high-quality items in a produce department-like setting.“Our convenience packages, also under the new label, are getting great responses,” said Mr. Wooten. “We began building this line of items back in the 1990s under our ‘Playboy’ brand, which we were using long before the magazine with the same name issued its first edition. In recent times we decided that it would be best to rebrand the line to reflect the fresh, wholesome, high nutrition and outstanding flavor of sweet potatoes. We have also redesigned our packaging as a part of the new branding program.”

Mr. Wooten said the company took the cue from “Green Giant,” which the company also packs. Sarah Wangler, owner of Sweet Marketing Success, helped the company to create the branding design, which is a mock-up of Mr. Bailey’s father’s signature.

Consumers, Mr. Wooten added, are willing to pay a bit of a premium for items that require no preparation and cook in quick time, and the “George Foods” line, which includes bagged, overwrap trays, individually wrapped microwavable and steamable sweet potatoes.

Wayne E. Bailey will be presenting the “George Foods” line of products again at the New York Produce Show & Conference Dec. 4-6 at Pier 94 in New York City.

Mr. Wooten said that the entire line of products, with the exception of bulk sweet potatoes, is being rebranded, noting that new three- and five-pound bags would be available by the New York Produce Show & Conference.

“We have also added a four-pack tray under the ‘George Foods’ brand, which we also pack under ‘Green Giant,’ “ said Mr. Wooten. “The potatoes in this pack are of precise in weight, length and diameter, and are perfect for people who want consistency when serving whole sweet potatoes.”

He said that the company’s past experience at the New York Produce Show & Conference has been very positive.

“It’s particularly good for smaller retailers who are supplied primarily by Northeast distributors,” said Mr. Wooten. “Companies that have five, 15 or 20 stores in a region find it a great event. And we feel that these regional shows give companies like ours an advantage over national events because everyone has the same booth size. The show has grown so large and so quickly that it had to find a larger space. Now with about 400 booths, we’ll see if it seems to be getting out of hand. It could be better for attendees, but I’m not sure it will benefit exhibitors.”

Mr. Wooten will be joined at the show by Ronnie Mercer, sales and marketing representative.

Wayne E. Bailey is a leading sweet potato producer, packer and shipper. Mr. Wooten said that in mid-September information reached his office that North Carolina’s crop is down by about 7,000 acres from last year.

“This leads me to believe that more acreage was planted for the processing side,” he said. “Our acreage, however, has increased by about 10 percent this year.”

The processing side of sweet potatoes, Mr. Wooten noted, is growing by about 35 percent per year, which is why growers are putting more acreage into sweet potatoes for processing.

“Our fresh demand increase is due in part to our convenience packaging,” he said. “The biggest challenge is that market prices are soft, while production costs are higher than ever, with no sign of leveling off. At some point prices will have to rise.”

The Wooten family has always been major supporters of the Nashville, TN-based Jam Tour, which features many top-name Christian performing artists, such as TobyMac, Third Day, Newsboys, Steven Curtis and many others. There are two Jam Tours each year: one in the eastern and one in the western United States At the heart of the Jam Tours are Christian ministry and a commitment to its $10 at the door charge, which underscores the importance of making the event affordable for everyone.

The tour performs in more than 50 cities and reaches more than half-a-million people every year, according to Mr. Wooten.