Idaho Potato Commission's Retail Display Contest to Award $150,000 in Cash, Prizes that are Music to Your Ears!

Free Portable iPod Docking System for All Entrants in the Annual Idaho Potato Lover's Month Competition

EAGLE, ID, December 12, 2011—Fire up the glue guns: It's time for the Idaho Potato Commission's (IPC) 21st annual Potato Lover's Month Retail Display Contest.

Erupting volcanoes, helmet-topped spud football teams, and giant Idaho maps made of potatoes are just a few of the winning ideas that retailers have employed to drive February spud sales and earn cash prizes. This February, the IPC's longest-running and most popular promotion will offer $150,000 in cash and prizes for the nation's best retail displays featuring Idaho® potatoes. Plus, everyone who enters will automatically receive a free portable iPod docking station.

"This is a great way to pep up potato sales during February, which can be a slow month," said Seth Pemsler, vice president, Retail/International, IPC. "Besides the incentive of cash prizes, stores will see increased traffic in the produce department when they put up a creative, crowd-pleasing promotional display. Some of our past winners have reported sales increases of 20 percent, 50 percent and more!"

 

The contest is easy to enter: Retailers just design an attention-grabbing produce department display that includes fresh Idaho® potatoes, an Idaho® dehydrated potato product, Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blends, and Molly McButter, along with special-themed point-of-sale material from the IPC, Mrs. Dash or Molly McButter. Don't be afraid to go big, because shoppers love larger-than-life displays that stop them in their tracks.

 

 

Dean Eide's Idaho® potato display at Lammers Food Fest in Menomonie, WI won first place among stores with 6-9 cash registers.

All entrants in the 2012 Potato Lover's Month Retail Display Contest will receive a free portable iHome iPod docking system.

Retailers will be competing with other stores their own size, in one of three categories: 1-5 cash registers, 6-9 cash registers, or 10+ cash registers. Entrants within each store category compete for these prizes:

 

• 1st place -- $1,500

 

• 2nd place -- $1,000

 

• 3rd place -- $750

 

• 4th place -- $500

 

• 5th place -- $250

 

• 100 Honorable Mention Prizes of $100 will go to displays selected from the remaining entries

 

Category managers win, too! If their store secures a top place (1st through 5th), they will win a matching prize.

With premium Idaho® potatoes and the IPC's distinctive merchandising materials as the base, the sky's the limit for creative spud concepts, as past contest winners can attest. Sirna's Market Deli in Aurora, Ohio, captured a third place award of $750 among stores with 1-5 cash registers for its 2011 contest entry and saw a dramatic Idaho® potato sales boost, said produce manager Bryan Bennington.

"[The display,] Mrs. Dash Loves Her Idahos, was set up like a kitchen, with a giant Mrs. Dash balloon dressed in an apron cooking at the stove," said Bennington. "It took up about 20 percent of our produce space, and it even intruded into our grocery space. And our sales increased by 150 percent!"

Contest Details
Here's how retailers can enter the IPC Potato Lover's Month 2012 Retail Display Contest:

 

1. Create an inviting display with fresh Idaho® potatoes, an Idaho® dehydrated potato product, Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blends, and Molly McButter, following the contest rules (available at www.IdahoPotato.com/Retail).

 

1. Put up the display in the store's produce section for at least one week between Jan. 30 and March 2, 2012.

 

1. Submit a picture of the display and an entry form (available at www.IdahoPotato.com/Retail) to the IPC so that it is received by March 16, 2012. Winners will be notified by May 2, 2012, and posted on www.IdahoPotato.com/Retail.

 

Ernest Junak's creative display at Publix Supermarket in Evans, GA earned fifth place among stores with 10+ cash registers.

All entrants in the 2012 Potato Lover's Month Retail Display Contest will receive a free portable iHome iPod docking system.

All entries will be judged on use of Potato Lover's Month signage, creativity of the display, how the display incorporates the partner products, and perceived salability of the display. Judging will be done by the Potato Lover's Month Display Contest Review Committee.

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.