Over the past decade, the U.S. Potato Board (USPB) has developed and proven an array of best practices in the vital areas of assortment, merchandising, pricing, promotion, packaging, in-store communication and training. To grow category sales, a nine-month category optimization (CO) program was developed in partnership with selected retailers to adopt one or more of the identified best practices and measure sales results.
During the latest CO program, the USPB worked with a retail partner from May through November 2014. Following the test period, the impact of the program within a three-store test group was measured by Nielsen Perishables Group, who also projected what the impacts would have been if activities had been implemented chain-wide. Success with the program was measured by dollar market share and sales velocity change from the prior year. The program included in-store signage, recipe cards, circular ads, deli and bulk potato promotions and in-store demonstrations.
- “Iron man” posters and corresponding “take-one” recipe cards were developed to be placed at the potato table and changed each month. Posters included recipes that ranged from red, white and blue potato kebabs to crab-filled potato bites. This promotion ran the length of the program and generated incremental sales of $2,615, with four of the nine months driving increased market share. While not every poster helped increase market share, signage featuring smaller potato varieties proved to be successful.
- A service deli promotion was held with a new potato salad featured each month in the deli case and signage with the salad recipe for customers to try at home. This promotion ran the length of the program, and incremental sales in deli potato salads were $7,115. Market share gains were driven by the summer months.
- The retailer’s circular flyer featured an extra potato page for the three test stores featuring the USPB Potato Goodness logo and two recipes for the month of May. Category velocity and market share for the test stores improved in May from the prior year, delivering $2,723 in incremental potato sales.
- In-store cooking demonstrations were held during one weekend of each month. Demonstrations included potato recipe samples and recipe cards for customers. In-store cooking demonstrations did not drive significant market share gains.
- A bulk potato promotion was held in November featuring in-store signage, price discounts and a display contest between the stores. Overall market share and velocity for bulk potatoes in test stores increased significantly during the promotion. Bulk potato market share increased by 10.3 points, and bulk potato velocity increased by 34.6 percent. Incremental sales delivered were $3,896. Bulk potatoes featured russet, red and white potatoes. Russets made up the majority of bulk potato sales at the test stores, while white potatoes gained the most share and velocity during the promotion.
The CO program was a success at the test stores, driving market share gains and generating incremental sales for the potato category. Total shopper trips to the potato category increased by 0.4 percent, and total spend per trip increased 6 cents per trip from the prior year, with trips increasing significantly for smaller potato varieties. Overall, market share gains in the test stores resulted in $16,349 in incremental sales. If all stores for the retailer gained potato market share at the same rate as the test stores, they would deliver over $3.2 million in incremental sales.
Taking a multi-faceted approach was successful in this study. It is important for growers to work with retailers on tactics that meet their needs and increase category sales. In this test, marketing tactics that focused on single potato types were more effective at driving market share increases; bulk potato promotions, featuring all varieties, were effective in driving sales growth; and featuring potato salads in the deli was a great way to increase sales velocity and market share, especially during the summer months.