June 04 , 2007

Continuing its stated objective to develop an image for the industry, via a comprehensive industry strategy that will increase the demand for potatoes, the Fresh Demand Working Group (FDWG) met May 30th to review new consumer positioning concepts for the United States Potato Board’s (USPB) nutrition campaign.

Sterling Brands of New York City, creators of the new “Fruits and Veggies More Matters” campaign for the Produce for Better Health Group, is the USPB’s newest strategic marketing communications partner agency hired in early May to create an identity for US potatoes that everyone in the industry can utilize to position potatoes to consumers.

Recently conducted and tested message development identified:

• Telling people potatoes are convenient is hard to do without a tangible activity such as a demo or instructions
• Need to blend nutrition and convenience story along with taste
• 75% of consumers think potatoes are ok, but eat less due to lifestyle changes
• 25% believe potatoes are fattening

The message development and testing clearly identified a most effective message that the whole industry needs to communicate.

FDWG co-chair, USPB President & CEO, Tim O’Connor noted, “These days, it is obligatory to have some nutritional message about the goodness of potatoes. Sterling Brands is working to incorporate this thinking into the USPB’s nutrition public relations campaign that can serve as the basis for the entire industry to position potatoes to consumers through a unified, overall, potato image.”  While the USPB has been effective in getting a lot of media pickup with a limited budget, O’Connor expressed the desire for the entire industry to come together in this effort: “Shippers and marketers will, hopefully, adapt the message to their own marketing programs and utilize it as some did with the original nutritional initiative a few years ago.”

Jim Knutzen, President & CEO, Farm Fresh Direct, LLC, Monte Vista, CO, and FDWG co-chair added, “The challenge is that potato messaging for the future needs more creativity and innovation. The USPB’s hiring of Sterling Brands, and their demonstrated success, is an important next step in repositioning potatoes into today’s fast-paced consumer lifestyle. Promotion to increase demand now has to be done as an industry; we cannot rely on USPB alone. There is clearly a need for industry players to do something in addition to what the Board is doing, but in a common theme.”

The FDWG voted to immediately consumer test the five positioning concepts presented by Sterling Brands. The group will reconvene to review the focus group test results and move forward with creative campaign development. The goal is to roll out the new message and marketing materials as early as possible to become part of the industry’s consumer communications, ad features and promotions activities. For additional information on the FDWG, please contact Tim O’Connor at 303-369-7783 or toconnor@uspotatoes.com.

The USPB is pleased to offer, for the industry’s use, the “Potato Promotional Activity Evaluation”. Mac Johnson, USPB Vice President, Domestic Marketing, states, “The ‘Potato Promotional Activity Evaluation’ delivers our analysis of 104 weeks (2 years) of promotions.” Johnson elaborated, “The report identifies the results from analyzing promotion activities and should be used by fresh shippers as both a guide for what type of promotions to pursue and a vehicle to have a valuable conversation, as a partner, with retail customers, at the management level, seeking to enhance the business for both parties by implementing these learnings.” 

For additional information on the “Potato Promotional Activity Evaluation”, please contact Mac Johnson at 303-369-7783 or macjohnson@uspotatoes.com.

Promotion Deck Revised Final.ppt

PRICE OPTIMIZATION MODEL TO MAXIMIZE RETAIL REVENUE

To offer yet another tool for fresh shippers to take to their retail partners, the USPB commissioned Dr. Tim Richards, professor in the Morrison School of Management & Agribusiness at Arizona State University, to create a model that would determine the optimal retail price for eight different potato varieties/bag sizes in nine different US regions, as defined by AC Nielsen based on their proprietary syndication technology. For purposes of this study, optimal price is defined as those that maximize retail revenue.

Richards concludes the potential impact on retail revenue if fresh shippers share this information with their retail partners, “By following the price recommendations in this model, revenue in the final week of 2006 would have been 33.74% higher than what actually occurred ($17.19 million vs. $12.85 million).” This USPB Tool for Industry is another example of grower-directed USPB work that is “money in the bank” for the US potato industry. For additional information on the “Price Optimization Model”, please contact Tim O’Connor at 303-369-7783 or toconnor@uspotatoes.com.

Price Optimization Model Memo.pdf

US POTATO BOARD SPONSORS SUCCESSFUL PROJECT TO PREVENT CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Several years ago the USPB became a sponsor of “Shape Up Somerville: Eat Smart, Play Hard”, a community-based intervention to prevent childhood obesity. This program was designed and implemented by the Medical School at Tufts University and the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as the largest sponsor.

This multi-faceted program focused on an elementary school in Somerville, MA, and eventually reached out to the surrounding community. The goal was to make the students’ total environment supportive of their new healthy lifestyle. School food programs offered more healthful menus and introduced new foods to students. Nutrition classes focused on different fruits and vegetables each month, and of course, had a unit on potatoes. Before and after school programs included a wide range of physical activities, creative cooking classes and a field trip to a farm. One of the more significant community involvement activities was making it safer for the children to walk or ride their bikes to school. Local restaurants also joined in by offering healthy menu offerings, while the mayor of Somerville became the program’s champion.

Somerville was chosen because a large percentage of its children were at risk of obesity or already overweight. By the end of the year, the school’s first to third graders gained less weight than children in similar communities. These students and their parents had also been enjoying a significantly healthier lifestyle, which, hopefully, created habits that will continue through their teen and adult years. 

The study was published in the medical journal Obesity and was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, May 8th. 

Sponsorship of this study benefits the potato industry in several ways, the most important of which was positioning potatoes as part of the solution to childhood obesity and building on the USPB’s excellent relationship with Tufts.

The USPB is pleased to report the press release regarding the two scientific studies reporting good news for potatoes (featured in the May 18 issue of Industry Update) was picked up by Phil Lempert, TodayShow.com and MSNBC.com contributor and radio personality, as follows:

“Good news for potato lovers.

“Based on two new unrelated studies, it appears that potatoes can help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes; and may even help with weight loss (oh, how we laugh in glory at those low-carb dieters!).

“A fresh potato, with skin, contains 45% of the recommended daily value (DV) of vitamin C, 18% DV of potassium, almost no sodium, no fat, and no cholesterol.

“But it seems that the millions who followed the low-carb, no-carb fad diets forgot, or at least temporarily dismissed, the nutritional values of the potato!

“We all know that diets characterized by meats and fatty foods are associated with a higher risk for diabetes. But now, researchers at the University of Melbourne and the Cancer Council Victoria in Australia have conducted a study which suggests that a diet of salad and cooked vegetables, including non-fried potatoes, may be linked to a decreased risk of diabetes.

“Most interesting? The decreased diabetes risk disappeared when potatoes were excluded from the vegetables group.

“The study, conducted by the Jean Mayer U.S. Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging has found evidence that the glycemic load, or carbohydrate content, of a diet has less effect than caloric intake, when it comes to weight loss.

“For one year, one group of men and women were given a low glycemic load, while a second group of men and women were given a high glycemic load. Both groups were restricting their calories by 30%, and both groups had lost an average of 8% of their original weight. In addition, the group with a lower glycemic load had a higher tendency to regain body fat and weight.

“So for all of you who have been warding off all carbs for the past three years – you should probably stay away from those potato chips, but it's time to enjoy that baked potato at this year's Memorial Day barbeque.

“At only 110 calories per 3.5 ounce serving, it's a nutritional bargain when you leave off the butter (and add salsa instead!).”

In addition to this coverage, the producer of Lempert’s radio program has scheduled USPB nutrition consultant, Katherine Beals, PhD, for a 10-minute interview on June 9th. 

At this point, USPB staff cannot obtain the number of hits on TodayShow.com and MSNBC.com, but we do know there are 881 links to this site.

IT’S POTATO SALAD SEASON

USPB Public Relations sent out its summer potato salad release the same day MSNBC covered the above referenced research. Our first hit appeared almost immediately in the Cincinnati Post with an article titled: “Potatoes are more thrillin' if grillin'.”

You can view our Summer Salad and Grilling Recipes plus Reci-Tips for summer side dishes by going to www.healthypotato.com and clicking on A Summer of Fresh Potatoes.

The USPB confirmed Potato Salad season is a “good thing” when Martha Stewart made her version on the Today Show, Wednesday, May 23rd, starting her segment with “Who Doesn’t Love Potato Salad.” On Friday of the same week, Good Morning America featured a summer picnic with chicken and a “fabulous” potato salad (according to Robin Roberts) made with pre-cut and cooked potatoes.

The USPB expects many more excellent potato salad stories throughout the summer, especially around the three major holidays.

US seed growers/exporters are now able to receive a $250 grant when they register for the International Potato Symposium. The grant will cover two nights of hotel costs in Las Vegas. Those who have already signed up will also receive the grant. The Symposium will be held at Caesar's Palace on July 30, 2007, in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the registration deadline is June 25. A one-day educational forum that kicks off the USPB's annual seed tour, this year, growers, importers, restaurateurs and produce managers will be coming to the US from the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka and Uruguay, to learn about the US seed certification system, tour seed production areas and meet US seed growers. Contact Leah Cochran at 303.873.2323 or
lcochran@uspotatoes.com for more information or to register.

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