Idaho Potato Lovers Display Contest hits new heights of creativity
With a 20 percent jump in entries received for this year’s Idaho Potato Lovers Display Contest, more retailers than ever lifted up spud sales as they competed for $150,000-plus in cash and prizes.
The 32nd annual retail display contest, sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission, brings out the best in produce department creativity from coast to coast, said Ross Johnson, IPC vice president of retail and international.
“We get display entries with everything from quirky potato characters to rustic farm scenes to elaborate hand-lettered posters,” said Johnson. “These displays help drive higher sales too: IPC research has found that test stores with secondary displays of Idaho russets deliver a nearly 10 times growth advantage, while comparison stores with no secondary display achieve an average category growth of only 2.5 percent.”
Everyone who participated in the 2023 IPC contest also was entered in a random sweepstake drawing for a six-day resort getaway for two at the oceanside Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas.
register category.
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 (100 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 sweepstakes trip to Atlantis. All entrants received a free Brentwood stainless steel four-slice toaster oven that can toast, broil and bake.
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 needed to use IPC 2023 special themed point-of-sale materials: two double-sided Idaho Potato Lovers logo display signs, one large and two small double-sided signs showing an appetizing photo, and two inflatable Mylar Idaho potato-branded balloons. Displays were required to be in the store’s produce section for at least one week between Feb. 1 and April 15.
