One of the core responsibilities of the United States Potato Board (USPB) is to help the industry understand and properly target consumers with products and promotions. To do this we continually monitor sales and conduct consumer research. This fall we completed one of the most ambitious consumer research projects ever undertaken at the USPB—a robust, quantitative segmentation of U.S. consumers. The overall objective of this market segmentation was to provide a comprehensive understanding of the opportunities and challenges to increasing sales of U.S. potatoes and potato products.
This study was conducted quantitatively in September 2014 through an online survey of a large, representative sample of the U.S. population. In order to ensure results would be actionable, the only qualifiers were that participants be between 18 and 75 years of age and at least partially responsible for their household’s food decisions. The sample included an equal geographic distribution across the United States and was consistent with the most recent U.S. census.
As described in the first column of this four-installment series, there are seven distinct consumer segments of the U.S. population, as dictated by lifestyle, food, cooking attitudes and behaviors. These seven segments are defined as follows:
- Value and convenience
- Cooking for health
- Creative cooks
- Adventurous diners
- Live to eat
- Short order cook
- Too busy to cook
A significant goal of this study was to determine which segments of the population provide the biggest opportunity to increase overall potato usage and what types of messaging and communication they would be most influenced by.
Because of the overwhelming prevalence of potato consumption in U.S. households, there exist opportunities within each segment; however, the goal is to focus in on target audience(s) that represent the biggest opportunity to grow potatoes’ share of the plate across channels.
To this end, two segments, “live to eat” and “creative cooks” both provide immediate opportunities for target refinements from our previous “Linda” target. In looking at these two targets, while they have unique, individual qualities, we find there is significant overlap when it comes to certain behaviors and traits. Both segments are focused on fresh foods as part of their diets and identify “fresh and natural” as the single most important attribute that makes food “healthy.” These targets tend to report higher household incomes, though value still remains an important factor when making food decisions. Additionally, they are more food-involved overall and place higher consideration into the foods they’re making at home and purchasing when dining out. They seek more adventurous food options, though they still have time constraints like most Americans.
While this is just a snapshot of their behavioral characteristics, they are ultimately the most food-involved segments of the U.S. population and also over-index currently for potato usage, particularly fresh.
While other segments are purchasing and consuming primarily Russets, these two segments report higher than average usage of all types of fresh potatoes. Combining all of their characteristics together, these two segments have been merged into a single segment titled “food enthusiasts.”
This segment has shown initial positive reactions to messaging that focuses on the multitude of delicious and versatile ways in which potatoes can be prepared, along with key health benefits, including fresh and natural. We are confident the industry can effectively continue to position potatoes as positive aspects of their diets that meet all their needs when seeking out food choices.
The USPB Marketing Department will be providing the industry with the specifics of the “food enthusiast” target, along with recommendations on where and how you can reach them and recommended messaging. However, if you would like to discuss this directly with them, please contact USPB chief marketing officer John Toaspern or USPB marketing operations director Kim Breshears at (303) 369-7783.