Hen House Extends Celebration of Potato Lover's Month Beyond the Produce Aisle

Grocery Store Featured Unique Idaho® Potato Displays, Cooking Demos and Advice from Renowned Chef Jasper Mirabile

EAGLE, ID—March 11, 2011—Upscale grocery store chain, Hen House, celebrated Potato Lover’s Month (PLM) with a storewide “spudtacular” promotion that included culinary demos, giveaways and, of course, an abundant supply of Idaho® spuds. In Kansas City, the popular market’s in-house dietitian, Jennifer Egeland, along with well-known chef and owner of the local Italian dining destination Jasper’s Restaurant, Jasper Mirable, shared their expert potato expertise to drive customers to the store and generate local press coverage for the big event.

As competitors in the Idaho Potato Commission’s (IPC) Potato Lover’s Month Retail Display Contest, Hen House featured a collection of creative displays in many of their stores using marketing materials provided by the IPC.

Hen House pulled out all the stops for the IPC's 20th Annual Potato Lover's Month Retail Display Contest with storewide displays featuring Idaho® potato recipes, decorations and deals.

“Hen House went above and beyond the traditional potato display contest and took Potato Lover’s Month to a whole new level,” said Seth Pemsler, Vice President, Retail/International, IPC. “By offering cooking advice from Chef Jasper, hosting store-wide promotions, coordinating radio promotions and using the IPC’s mascot, Spuddy Buddy, to help promote the goodness of Idaho® potatoes, Hen House was able to successfully engage consumers in this celebratory event on many different levels.”

Mirabile conducted several radio interviews, and along with Spuddy Buddy, presented delicious potato dishes to early morning DJs Dick Wilson on KCMO-FM, Slacker on KCFX and Nycki Pace and Bryan Truta on KCJK. Egeland joined the team as well, offering expert insight on the nutritional benefits of potatoes. The radio stations gave away three $50 Hen House gift certificates to lucky listeners.

Spuddy Buddy, with a Hen House representative, greeted shoppers during the store's Potato Lover's Month promotions.

Hen House pulled out all the stops for the IPC's 20th Annual Potato Lover's Month Retail Display Contest with storewide displays featuring Idaho® potato recipes, decorations and deals.

“To gear up for Potato Lover’s Month and IPC’s annual display contest, we decided to take things up a notch and put together an engaging and interactive storewide celebration,” said Lou Malaponti, Director of Produce/Floral Operations for Balls Food Stores. “Potatoes are an incredibly versatile, nutritious and economical meal option, and we wanted to help remind our shoppers of that.”

Idaho® potato promotion occurred in all Hen House Markets, and select stores held cooking demos where customers learned to create perfect potato dishes with Mrs. Dash seasoning. Spuddy Buddy greeted shoppers at six Hen House markets in Kansas and one in Missouri.  For more information visit www.henhouse.com.

About the Idaho Potato Commission
The Idaho Potato Commission is a state agency that is primarily responsible for expanding the markets for Idaho-grown potatoes through advertising, promotion and research. The Commission also protects the use of the “Idaho® potato” and “Grown in Idaho®” seals, which are federally registered Certification Marks that belong to the IPC.  These Marks ensure that consumers are purchasing potatoes that have been grown in the state of Idaho. For more information, visit www.idahopotato.com.
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