Return to Healthy Eating display contest helps reverse flawed low-carb fad
Return to Healthy Eating display contest helps reverse flawed low-carb fad
While The Produce News and the Idaho Potato Commission, which co-sponsored a "Return to Healthy Eating? display contest that ran from October through December 2004, can?t take all the credit, the joint effort was undoubtedly one contributing factor in bringing many Americans back to their senses with regard to some of the scientifically flawed premises of low-carbohydrate fad diets.
Just a year ago, newspaper and magazine articles were declaring "low-carb? diets a trend, not a fad. But recent surveys have shown a sharp drop-off in the number of people adhering to low-carbohydrate regimens.
Potato sales had suffered from the low-carb craze, as some popular low-carb diets failed to differentiate between good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates, just as avocados once suffered from a failure to differentiate between good fats and bad fats.
A more scientifically sound message has made its way into the media and into the public consciousness in recent months. The efforts of the Idaho Potato Commission to educate the public and the trade on the health and nutritional benefits of potatoes " including the "Return to Healthy Eating? display contest " have helped bring that about.
The reason the commission chose to launch a display contest with a healthy eating theme, according to Seth Pemsler, vice president of retail merchandising of the Idaho Potato Commission, is because of "the fact that there was improper, inaccurate communication, based on the anti-carb movement, which maligned a number of produce categories." Potatoes are one example, oranges another, he said.
?The potato was a poster child of a maligned vegetable? in spite of its many positive nutritional and health benefits, Mr. Pemsler said.
Through the display contest " and the promotion of the contest to the retail trade " The Produce News and the Idaho Potato Commission "effectively communicated together that potatoes are, in fact, a good-for-you food," he said. Not only did the displays that were built help convey that message to shoppers, but through the "exposure to the contest and through the copy that we provided in the publication, we did help educate the produce managers, as well as the potato managers, that potatoes are in fact a good food, not a bad food, a la Atkins."
Potato sales, which had declined somewhat since the beginning of the low-carb craze, have since stabilized, he said. "The promotion had a positive effect because it helped support the category which is now beginning to recover." Jack Bricker, publisher of The Produce News, said, "We were very hopeful that the retail trade would recognize the Return to Healthy Eating display contest as a tool to increase potato sales. One of the best ways to get potato sales back on track is to confront the consumer with the truth " that potatoes are, in fact, good for you " and that the fad diets which have hurt potato sales have also hurt the health of consumers. Let?s face it, a steady diet of bacon and cheese is crazy. It's a good way to become a slim, attractive corpse!?
?The general response from retailers to the contest was positive from the standpoint that " retailers were appreciative of the efforts taken by [the commission and The Produce News] to set the record straight, which has helped turn around the category," Mr. Pemsler said. Contest participants came up with "some creative displays in support of this promotion."
The Produce News conducted telephone interviews with three of the $1,000 prize winners in the Return to Healthy Eating display contest.
Dave Yesenik, store manager at Weirton Shop N Save in Weirton, WV, was actually a little ahead of the curve, as the huge health-themed banner he used over the massive Idaho potato display for his winning entry was one he had originally used a year ago in the Potato Lovers Month display contest. The banner reads, "Don?t be a couch potato. Healthy lifestyles begin with Genuine Idaho Potatoes. Eat smart " eat healthy. Enjoy nutritious Idaho potatoes every day."
Mr. Yesenik said that he has been in the produce business for more than 30 years, beginning in the eighth grade. "My dad had a grocery store," he said. "We used to bag the potatoes ourselves." Following high school, he became a produce manager for a supermarket, "then went into store management."
He has had good luck with Idaho Potato Commission contests in the past, and when The Produce News spoke with him, he had just completed a new display for this year?s Potato Lover?s Month contest. He buys potatoes in sufficient quantity "to expand my display and be creative and put something bigger out there than I would normally put out," he said.
While he sees a spike in sales when he runs such a promotion, Mr. Yesenik sees benefits beyond that. "When you do something like that, the customers look at the banners and nutrition facts and all the point-of-sale materials that goes with it. " Hopefully it puts in their mind the nutritional values of potatoes and produce in general."
Barb Czeczely, produce manager of Shop N Save in Canonsburg, PA, created a winning entry with a more modest but no less creative display concept. Hand-lettered signs on the display touted the beneficial complex carbohydrates in potatoes through the slogan, "Carbs are greater in Idaho taters."
Ms. Czeczley has been in the grocery business for 27 years with the same company. For years she had never won a contest. But a few years back she finally won $75 in corn display contest. Since then, she has won about seven contests, she said. Her secret: "I read all the directions to the contest and try to do everything they want," while at the same time trying to do something that works for her and the store.
The Return to Health Eating display helped give potato sales a boost, Ms. Czeczley said. "Potatoes had slowed down so much in the department as a result of the carb thing." But the promotion helped reverse that. Not only for Idaho potatoes but "all through the different varieties, it has made a difference," she said.
Tom Schroader, produce manager and assistant store manager at Al?s Food Valu in Whitehouse, TN, said that his daughter helped make the hand-lettered sign for his winning entry, a large pyramid-shaped display built from the floor up. The sign on top hailed Idaho potatoes as "the Healthy Harvest." The customers "thought it was great," he said.
When The Produce News interviewed Mr. Schroader, he was in the process of putting together a new display for Potato Lovers Month.
A 27-year veteran of the retail grocery business, Mr. Schroader has been involved in produce for most of that time and has been at Al?s Food Valu for nine years. "I like building displays," he said. "I like working with produce." At previous companies, he said, "I was always told what to do and how to do it and where to do it. They would never let you think for yourself."
When he first started working at Al?s, the owner, Al Carmen, "pretty much told me, "You pretend this is Tom?s Produce Market. I know you know what you are doing. I may have suggestions from time to time, but for the most part, you can do anything you want to." "
Mr. Schroader liked the theme of the Return to Healthy Eating contest, but he said that at his store he never really saw a drop-off in potato sales. "We sell a ton of potatoes here," he said.
Just a year ago, newspaper and magazine articles were declaring "low-carb? diets a trend, not a fad. But recent surveys have shown a sharp drop-off in the number of people adhering to low-carbohydrate regimens.
Potato sales had suffered from the low-carb craze, as some popular low-carb diets failed to differentiate between good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates, just as avocados once suffered from a failure to differentiate between good fats and bad fats.
A more scientifically sound message has made its way into the media and into the public consciousness in recent months. The efforts of the Idaho Potato Commission to educate the public and the trade on the health and nutritional benefits of potatoes " including the "Return to Healthy Eating? display contest " have helped bring that about.
The reason the commission chose to launch a display contest with a healthy eating theme, according to Seth Pemsler, vice president of retail merchandising of the Idaho Potato Commission, is because of "the fact that there was improper, inaccurate communication, based on the anti-carb movement, which maligned a number of produce categories." Potatoes are one example, oranges another, he said.
?The potato was a poster child of a maligned vegetable? in spite of its many positive nutritional and health benefits, Mr. Pemsler said.
Through the display contest " and the promotion of the contest to the retail trade " The Produce News and the Idaho Potato Commission "effectively communicated together that potatoes are, in fact, a good-for-you food," he said. Not only did the displays that were built help convey that message to shoppers, but through the "exposure to the contest and through the copy that we provided in the publication, we did help educate the produce managers, as well as the potato managers, that potatoes are in fact a good food, not a bad food, a la Atkins."
Potato sales, which had declined somewhat since the beginning of the low-carb craze, have since stabilized, he said. "The promotion had a positive effect because it helped support the category which is now beginning to recover." Jack Bricker, publisher of The Produce News, said, "We were very hopeful that the retail trade would recognize the Return to Healthy Eating display contest as a tool to increase potato sales. One of the best ways to get potato sales back on track is to confront the consumer with the truth " that potatoes are, in fact, good for you " and that the fad diets which have hurt potato sales have also hurt the health of consumers. Let?s face it, a steady diet of bacon and cheese is crazy. It's a good way to become a slim, attractive corpse!?
?The general response from retailers to the contest was positive from the standpoint that " retailers were appreciative of the efforts taken by [the commission and The Produce News] to set the record straight, which has helped turn around the category," Mr. Pemsler said. Contest participants came up with "some creative displays in support of this promotion."
The Produce News conducted telephone interviews with three of the $1,000 prize winners in the Return to Healthy Eating display contest.
Dave Yesenik, store manager at Weirton Shop N Save in Weirton, WV, was actually a little ahead of the curve, as the huge health-themed banner he used over the massive Idaho potato display for his winning entry was one he had originally used a year ago in the Potato Lovers Month display contest. The banner reads, "Don?t be a couch potato. Healthy lifestyles begin with Genuine Idaho Potatoes. Eat smart " eat healthy. Enjoy nutritious Idaho potatoes every day."
Mr. Yesenik said that he has been in the produce business for more than 30 years, beginning in the eighth grade. "My dad had a grocery store," he said. "We used to bag the potatoes ourselves." Following high school, he became a produce manager for a supermarket, "then went into store management."
He has had good luck with Idaho Potato Commission contests in the past, and when The Produce News spoke with him, he had just completed a new display for this year?s Potato Lover?s Month contest. He buys potatoes in sufficient quantity "to expand my display and be creative and put something bigger out there than I would normally put out," he said.
While he sees a spike in sales when he runs such a promotion, Mr. Yesenik sees benefits beyond that. "When you do something like that, the customers look at the banners and nutrition facts and all the point-of-sale materials that goes with it. " Hopefully it puts in their mind the nutritional values of potatoes and produce in general."
Barb Czeczely, produce manager of Shop N Save in Canonsburg, PA, created a winning entry with a more modest but no less creative display concept. Hand-lettered signs on the display touted the beneficial complex carbohydrates in potatoes through the slogan, "Carbs are greater in Idaho taters."
Ms. Czeczley has been in the grocery business for 27 years with the same company. For years she had never won a contest. But a few years back she finally won $75 in corn display contest. Since then, she has won about seven contests, she said. Her secret: "I read all the directions to the contest and try to do everything they want," while at the same time trying to do something that works for her and the store.
The Return to Health Eating display helped give potato sales a boost, Ms. Czeczley said. "Potatoes had slowed down so much in the department as a result of the carb thing." But the promotion helped reverse that. Not only for Idaho potatoes but "all through the different varieties, it has made a difference," she said.
Tom Schroader, produce manager and assistant store manager at Al?s Food Valu in Whitehouse, TN, said that his daughter helped make the hand-lettered sign for his winning entry, a large pyramid-shaped display built from the floor up. The sign on top hailed Idaho potatoes as "the Healthy Harvest." The customers "thought it was great," he said.
When The Produce News interviewed Mr. Schroader, he was in the process of putting together a new display for Potato Lovers Month.
A 27-year veteran of the retail grocery business, Mr. Schroader has been involved in produce for most of that time and has been at Al?s Food Valu for nine years. "I like building displays," he said. "I like working with produce." At previous companies, he said, "I was always told what to do and how to do it and where to do it. They would never let you think for yourself."
When he first started working at Al?s, the owner, Al Carmen, "pretty much told me, "You pretend this is Tom?s Produce Market. I know you know what you are doing. I may have suggestions from time to time, but for the most part, you can do anything you want to." "
Mr. Schroader liked the theme of the Return to Healthy Eating contest, but he said that at his store he never really saw a drop-off in potato sales. "We sell a ton of potatoes here," he said.
