Don't mash those potential potato profits

Greetings, produce professionals, and welcome to the produce department.

Let's start the new year off talking about one of the sometimes-unsung superstars of the produce department: the potato.

Now that we are firmly in the grip of the icy, cold winter months, your customers will continue to look for more of those “comfort” — yet healthy — foods to carry them through the bulk of the winter, and potatoes fit the bill for both. Potatoes are a nutritional powerhouse, not to mention super tasty when prepared a multitude of ways. They're great as a main course, side dish or snack. Potatoes can be baked, mashed (my personal fave), grilled, fried and roasted. There are countless ways to prepare them and countless ways to build sales and category growth.

Learn more: Potatoes, the commodity

Yes, potatoes are just that versatile, and yes, they are one of the biggest tonnage categories in your department with a ton of sales potential. And, with the versatility of the potato category, you can carry a variety of stock-keeping units to fit every customer's tastes.

Here's how you can maximize your potato sales and profits with these three short tips.

Plethora of potatoes

Aside from the “Big 3” (russet, red and gold potatoes), carrying a great variety of potatoes is a surefire way to capture all customers walking past and through your spud centers. Baby creamer potatoes, all varieties of sweet potatoes, purple potatoes and the increasingly popular fingerling varieties of potatoes all should have spots on your counters. Carrying the full line of offerings just might introduce your customers to something they've never tried. There are also a lot of value-added, quick meal packs available from several shippers that can increase sales when cut into your potato land. These ready-to-eat bags can be microwaveable, steamed or grilled right in the packs. That's a huge convenience for customers on the go.

Bags, bags, bags

Bagged potatoes are where the tonnage is at, especially during the winter and holiday months. With potato consumption at its highest around those times, consumers want an easy grab-and-go, value option to feed larger families and to make multiple potato dishes. Having 3-pound, 5-pound and even 10-pound bags are the ticket to do just that. Bagged potato sales don't flourish in just the fall and winter months, however. With the spring and summer, shoppers will want to pick up bags of spuds to make potato salad, potato chips and grilled potatoes. Potatoes are for every season!

Merchandising mashers

There is sometimes a notion out there that you can't make awesome and creative displays with potatoes, and that couldn't be further from the truth. While they don't have the vibrant flash of peppers or citrus, and they don't possess the beautiful vibrancy and textures of a well-set wet rack, potatoes can indeed be creatively merchandised. Use their color, different sizes and cross-merchandising.

Other merchandising tips: Fall for pears

The potato category is also a lower risk as far as shrink is concerned, and that generally means that you can go bigger with your displays. Big potato displays mean big potato sales!

Creating waterfalls, wider spreads, levels and incorporating other “hard” produce, such as onions and winter squash, can set up spuds as the epicenter of sales success. There is something super impressive about a massive display of beautiful tubers on a produce department's sales floor. Don't be afraid to layer out bigger displays of potatoes, both loose and bagged. You might be surprised with the results you will get.

Potatoes are also a great category to cross-merchandise with other items in your produce department. Fresh herbs, asparagus, peppers, garlic and onions, just to name a few, all pair well with potatoes. Cross-merchandise in your meat departments with steaks, and bring over a stack of olive oil from grocery to run alongside of your sections. So many sales opportunities for you can be created by the potato category, and cross-merchandising will offer your customers some cool meal suggestions and ideas.

Placement precautions

One very important detail to note for successful potato merchandising is potato placement in your departments. Do not build displays or place your potato sections in an area with a lot of light shining directly onto your displays. Too much exposure to light will cause potatoes to green up and become unsellable, increasing your shrink. Any time you can direct any track lighting away from potato displays or keep out of direct sunlight is always a plus. As a rule, it is a great idea also to cover your potato sections and displays with a dark blanket, tarp or even trash bags to keep the light off the displays overnight. It's a simple way to add shelf life to potatoes.

And lastly on the merchandising front, with February comes the annual Potato Lovers Month Display Contest. This display contest, sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission, is a surefire way to increase sales, grow the category through larger, creative displays of potatoes, and create an atmosphere of fun and excitement around building displays and selling potatoes.

— Editor's note: Use those same potato-display photos as part of your entry for PMG's seasonal Produce Artist Award Series, which is four times a year. Email six to 10 large photos to [email protected], with your name, job title, company and location.

— Brian Dey is senior merchandiser and trainer at Four Seasons Produce, Ephrata, Pa., and a multiple winner of PMG's Produce Artist Award Series, as well as a guest judge.