Growers and retailers can both flourish when growers get strong prices as the retail price stays at a good profitable level. It just takes some smart merchandising to achieve the ideal result.
Michael Gatz says this was proven in the fall, with a successful promotion with Jewel Food Stores Inc., based in the Chicago suburb of Melrose Park, IL. Gatz, the director of business development for Bushmans’ Inc., a major potato shipper located in Rosholt, WI, is ebullient over a fall promotion program with Jewel.
Gatz said Bushmans’ potato sales to Jewel quadrupled over the volume sold a year earlier. “You don’t always have to lower the price to increase sales,” Gatz underscored.
Gatz explained that Bushmans’ hook was to give away a Nickey Camaro as a consumer drawing prize in the Jewel promotion. Of course, point-of-purchase materials attracted consumer attention to the large Jewel displays. Bushmans’ potato displays varied in size from four-feet square to four-by-16 feet.
Gatz said the idea of the whole promotion came from Scott Bennett, Jewel’s produce sales and merchandising manager.
