Signage sells U.S. Potatoes overseas

Farm and Ranch Report September 21, 2011 A sign of success. That is what you might call a retail test of signage the U.S. Potato Board conducted recently in Singapore and Malaysia to promote U.S. fresh potato sales.

Sarah Mahler, an international marketing manager for the Potato Board, says consumers in international markets aren’t as familiar with the different varieties and types of U.S. potatoes and that‘s what the signage in the retail test focused on.

Mahler: “We added U.S. potato variety signage and recipe cards to potato displays to determine if adding this informational signage would increase volume and dollar sales. The signage included information on U.S. potato types, usage, nutrition and recipes for consumers.”

And test results were?

Mahler: “We saw increases in sales volume in both Malaysia and Singapore. The test results showed that compared to the pre-test period U.S. potatoes saw sales increase 130% in Singapore and 28% in Malaysia. So overall these tests were proof that displaying variety signage in the potato category would help retailers increase their potato sales.”

And that’s of potatoes from U.S. growers.

That’s the U.S. Potato Update. Brought to you by the United States Potato Board, maximizing return on grower investment. I’m Bob Hoff for Northwest Aginfo Net.