Marketing Maine potatoes: Are they really just another spud?

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PRESQUE ISLE — John Logan, the director of quality control for the Maine Potato Board, believes that “consumers of fresh produce, including potatoes, have four concerns: appearance, freshness, flavor, and price. However, as our economic situation gets worse, price does become more important.”

Logan’s responsibilities for the Maine Potato Board include tracking what the competition is doing and what consumers want and then sharing that information with Maine growers.

He describes the potato industry as “very complex.” Marketing strategies are fairly straightforward, but involve many players, including growers, packers, shippers, dealers, buyers, produce managers, consumers, potato and fresh produce associations, merchandisers, and advertising agencies.

The personal touch

“Nothing beats that eyeball-to-eyeball contact with people,” Logan said. “Our best feedback comes from talking to lots of folks.”

That happens each September, when Logan and other industry representatives, along with chapter members from the Future Farmers of America (FFA), attend the Big E in Springfield, Mass. During the 12-day show, the potato-industry reps serve 5,000 baked potatoes a day, or one every five seconds, to consumers who stand in line for 20 minutes, awaiting a baked Maine potato garnished with a topping of their choice.

“While they’re waiting, we talk,” Logan said. “I explain the differences in potato varieties, and they tell us what they want in a potato.”

Fresh produce shows are another opportunity for personal contact — this time with major buyers. The Maine Potato Board annually participates in two significant produce shows, those organized by the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association and the Produce Marketing Association.

“Very few sales are made at a produce show, but friendships are formed, and contacts are made,” Logan said. “Having this opportunity to meet potential customers increases the likelihood of successfully doing business at a later date.”

The other spud

Logan also works closely with Buyer Advertising, the agency responsible for promoting Maine potatoes to the national market. “Our primary goal,” explained Charles Buyer, “is to maintain and improve Maine potatoes’ share of the consumer marketplace.” The agency’s two-pronged approach is consumer advertising, primarily print and radio, and special Maine potato promotions.

Responding to Idaho potato ads that stated, “If it isn’t an Idaho potato, it’s just another spud,” Buyer Advertising developed a Maine potato campaign around the theme, “The Other Potato.” This creative approach positions the Maine potato in the same league with its Idaho counterpart without naming the competition.

This theme is supported by a series of subheadings, such as “The Maine Attraction” or “Heathfully Maine”, clearly aligning the spud with Maine. Most ads feature recipes using the Maine potato and end with the tag line, “Quality from the Ground Up,” emphasizing that Maine sets higher quality standards for potatoes than does the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Market area

Working with an annual advertising budget that pales in comparison to that of the Idaho Potato Commission ($250,000 vs. $7 million), the Maine potato-ad campaign has focused on Boston, its primary market, for the past two years. Emphasis has been placed periodically on a secondary market, such as Hartford or Ft. Lauderdale.

“Rather than dilute our message throughout the market area, we chose to maximize our limited resources by concentrating on the market offering the most potential for Maine potato sales,” Charles Buyer said.

While the market for Maine potatoes stretches to the Mississippi River, Maine’s share diminishes with the distance from suppliers, and there is a predominance of Western potatoes in most cities except Boston. According to Logan, some potato-board members believe that some future advertising should be directed to the secondary markets, but “what they do will depend on how much money they have.”

Promotions

Special promotions stretch a limited budget farther by heightening public awareness of Maine potato quality. Promotions include the Maine Bag program and the Maine potato-sweepstakes contest.

promote quality and product consistency.

The Maine potato-sweepstakes contest encourages consumers to send their entries and comments to the potato board and encourages grocery stores to promote Maine potatoes.

Logan recently appeared on a Boston radio show, “Yankee Kitchen.” The show features recipes — Maine potato recipes on this particular show — and listeners called in with questions. The Boston Herald recently ran a recipe contest featuring Maine potatoes. Their food critic selected the winner, whose prize was a trip to the Samoset in Rockport.

The National Potato Board conducts nationwide campaigns effectively promoting the healthy virtues of potatoes. This board produced “Fast Facts About Potatoes,” an informative placard to be posted in grocery-store produce sections.

The placard offers nutritional information; cooking tips; data on types, varieties, and classifications of potatoes; and storage and merchandising tips.

The dealer link

While many growers operate their own packing sheds, and some growers market directly to buyers, the majority of Maine potatoes are bought and sold by dealers like Miff Dow of Independent Produce in Presque Isle. “We render a service by providing suppliers with a market for their potatoes,” he said.

Most dealers have federal and state licenses and provide one more link in the complex industry known as “Maine potatoes.”

Lucinda J. Hebert is a free-lance writer who lives in Caribou.