Spud sale strategies on table Marketing reviewed after troubled year

PRESQUE ISLE – As Maine comes off a disastrous selling season for tablestock potatoes – although processing grades have done well – the Maine Potato Board is examining its 2004 marketing strategies.

“We need to be more aggressive, more proactive,” Timothy Hobbs, assistant director of the Maine Potato Board, said of the industry. “This is an opportunity to push the Maine image.”

Hobbs said many of the merchandising incentives of the past have not done well and need to be changed. Print advertising has worked well, and fall promotion of Maine potatoes in Boston is expected to continue. However, both will be freshened up with some new ideas.

Potato industry people who attended a recent summit in Presque Isle supported two new ideas, Hobbs said:

. Tracing the product, or designating a party responsible for the product and creating a line of liability.

. End-use labeling of the packaging so that customers would know if the potatoes are good for boiling, frying or other cooking methods.

“This is more difficult, but there is value to it,” Hobbs said. “Packages could be color-coded. Retailers want it, and that is customer-driven.”

“In the end, the final driver is the customer,” board member Thomas Qualey said.

“[New marketing methods] won’t be easy, but if you don’t do it, someone else will,” Donald Flannery, potato board executive director, said.

Hobbs said McDonald’s restaurants plan to use Maine potatoes again this year. That will be promoted in print advertisements in conjunction with McCain Foods.

“How can we work with other processors?” Hobbs asked. “This is an opportunity to push the Maine image.”

Hobbs said the potato board also is working with a local restaurant that uses only Maine potatoes. They are looking for others.

He said Wal-Mart, Shaw’s and Hannaford all will carry Maine potatoes again this year.

“We know we can’t sell all Maine potatoes everywhere in Maine,” Flannery said. “But we can have successful programs with processors and retailers.”

Hobbs informed potato board members that Sysco, a supplier of food to the restaurant industry, will deliver Maine potatoes if customers request them.

The Maine Potato Board also plans a Boston Celtics promotion in November, in which people involved in the Maine potato industry will make a trip to Boston. Information is available from the potato board at Presque Isle.