Mar 23, 2017Potato promotions pivot from defense to offense
At the 2017 Potatoes USA annual meeting, in his “The Power of Potatoes” 2017 annual meeting address, president and CEO Blair Richardson related a question he was asked at his very first grower meeting in Colorado: Are potato promotions aggressive or defensive?
Answering this question from a few years ago, he said, “For a long time now the entire industry has been defensive. We don’t win wars by being defensive. If we’re going to change how people think about potatoes, we’ve got to get out of the trenches, fix bayonets and charge. Whether its on a bag, or on a box we need to get in front of consumers and change their minds.”
Potatoes are the number one consumed vegetable in the world. This is despite all
of the negative reports and bad publicity generated over the years, stemming from low-carb diets like the Atkins diet, and even from media personalities like Dr. Oz.
When it comes to potatoes and nutrition, most consumers know very little about what board members take so seriously. Ask any one of them, and they can ably rattle off a litany of potato nutrition facts — potatoes are fat free, potatoes have more potassium than a banana, they’re full of vitamins and minerals, etc. And they’ll follow these facts with their personal stories and anecdotes to help slam home the point. Yet, arguably speaking, all of this effort has been rallying around the banner to defend the humble potato, challenging the information, thoughts and ideas coming from vocal potato nutrition naysayers.
The humble potato days are over. Moving foward, potato promotions will be loud and proud, and proclaim the greatness of potatoes. Continuing on with his address, Richardson said, “We need to embrace what makes potatoes great. Why do carbs need to be bad? Scientists say we need 40 percent of our diets to be carbs, and potatoes are a fantastic carb choice with protein and potassium. Potatoes are an amazing whole food, and we all need to perform well.”
Taking potato promotion on the offensive, Potatoes USA will begin with targeting the diets of high performing athletes to begin to change the perceptions in the rest of the population. “Endurance elites are 22 million adults and 9 percent of the U.S.,” said John Toaspern, Potatoes USA chief marketing officer. “From there we’ll focus on the 38 million adults who are active achievers, and the 52 million who are wellness strivers. Altogether, there are 112 million people in the U.S. who care about athletic performance.”
“This will be a long-term strategy,” said Kim Breshears, marketing programs director for Potatoes USA. “We’ll start with the science and then move to the influencers and then on to consumers.” Ultimately, the potatoes for performance focus will be manifested in the Potatoes USA programs for foodservice, ingredients and retail.
Reporting from the importers caucus at the conclusion of the 2017 Potatoes USA annual meeting, board member Ed Barnhill commended this new focus and direction. “I’ve been a board member serving under the past three CEOs for this organization, and this is absolutely the best idea we’ve ever acted on — moving from playing defense to offense,” he said.
