IPC display contest is music to retailers' ears
With a 22 percent boost in entries this year, the 2025 Idaho Potato Lovers Display Contest put the spotlight on even more retail produce departments around the country — including nearly 140 winners of $150,000-plus in cash and prizes.
“We added three more honorable mention awards for our 34th annual contest because there were just too many great entries,” said Ross Johnson, IPC vice president of retail. “We continued our expanded sweepstakes too, giving away three full-size Victrola digital jukebox packages to winners from each of the three IPC regions, along with their category managers. Produce departments throughout the United States are stepping up with such original, creative Idaho potato displays that we wanted to honor as many as possible.”
The Idaho Potato Lovers Display Contest awards every entrant for participating. This year everyone who entered the competition took home five pairs of colorful limited-edition socks, perfect for sharing with other team members who worked on their display, said Johnson.
Retailers competed with other same-size stores in one of three categories: one to five cash registers, six to nine cash registers or 10-plus cash registers. Within each store category, entrants were eligible to win these prizes:
- First place – $1,500
- Second place – $1,000
- Third place – $750
- Fourth place – $500
- Fifth place – $250
- Honorable Mention – $100 (103 selected from remaining entries)
The Category Manager Match Program awarded equivalent prizes to corporate category managers for stores that qualified for a first through fifth place prize or the jukebox package.
In-store displays were required to incorporate fresh Idaho potatoes (bag, bulk or both) with a clear label showing the Idaho name and the “Grown in Idaho” seal, along with a clearly marked Idaho dehydrated potato product. The display also had to use IPC 2025 special themed point-of-sale materials: two double-sided Idaho Potato Lovers logo display signs, one large and two small double-sided signs with an appetizing photo and six inflatable Mylar Idaho potato balloons. Displays were required to be in the store’s produce section for at least one week between Feb. 1 and March 31.
