In the latest episode of Potato-cast, a Potatoes USA podcast, Natalia Cervantes, Potatoes USA Conversation Architect, is joined by her guest Kayla Dome, Potatoes USA Global Retail Marketing Manager. Kayla manages the retail marketing programs both domestically and internationally, and works to educate retail decision makers as well as the potato industry on how the industry can sell more potatoes in grocery stores.
Kayla says as March 2020 experienced the highest retail sales in history for fresh fruits and vegetables, it also began a significant growth in online grocery ordering. “March 2021 was expected to decline in sales compared to 2020 but specifically online grocery sales saw a 43% increase in online sales compared to 2020. That’s a $9.3 billion dollar sales increase for that online category,” she says.
Kayla points out that fresh potatoes are still driving larger baskets with the average basket size for 2020 coming in at $91.79 when potatoes are in it. This is compared to $77.94 in 2019. She notes that “it is really great to see this increase for fresh potatoes and the overall basket size for retailers, but what was most exciting was the increased demand for potatoes outside of the produce section.
She further says that for the first time in recent history, “we saw the fresh potato consumer also consistently buy frozen potatoes.”
To listen to the full podcast and read the transcript, visit the podcast webpage here, where there are also links to several related reports and figures. Potato-cast is a Podcast series that shares highlights of the Potatoes USA programs, the potato markets, and more. Visit this page of the Potatoes USA website for previous episodes of Potato-cast.
Source: Potatoes USA
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Kayla Dome
kayla@potatoesusa.com
