THE IDAHO POTATO CAMPAIGN MAKES AN ANNUAL TREK ALL OVER THE U.S. AND ITS POPULARITY CONTINUES TO GROW, SAYS POTATO COMMISSION’S PRESIDENT
THE Idaho potato industry descends upon Sun Valley, a resort city in the western United States, every August for the annual Idaho Grower Shipper Association convention.
Many people from across the industry attend and look forward to hearing the annual update from the Idaho Potato Commission, which gives a full recap on that year’s efforts to promote the state’s potato crop. This year, IPC President Jamey Higham discussed the ongoing success of the Big Idaho Potato Truck campaign at the event.
The ‘potato hotel’, a 28-foot long, 12-foot wide and 11.5-foot tall structure which can be hired for stays, is sited in a a location overlooking the Owyhee Mountains, when not on the road. It is bolted to a flatbed trailer and takes to the road for the rest of the year, promoting the Idaho potato and its mission to help small charities with its Big Helping program.
The truck made its debut in 2012 as part of the IPC’s 75th anniversary celebration and has since travelled to almost every corner of the United States. This year it even made it to Hawaii, where people flocked to see it from all over the state.
“One high school even closed early so the students could go see it,” Jamey said in an interview with The Produce News. “We also had a traditional lei ceremony for the truck led by Rep Diamond Garcia of Hawaii.”
The truck made stops at two Walmarts and two Five Guys locations gave out free chips to mark the truck’s visit.
The 2024 truck tour covered 67 cities and more than 22,000 miles, making appearances at more than 50 public events and raising more than $10,000 for charity.
Jamey said he’d been bowled over by the success of the Big Idaho Potato Truck campaign, having been a little reticent about it when he joined the IPC two years ago.
The truck will come off the road in September and undergo maintenance before going back on the road in February for the 2025 tour. Current tour plans for 2025 have the truck trekking back to New York City.
“New York is such a great market for Idaho potatoes, and despite the challenges of getting the truck into New York City, it is very worthwhile because of the exposure we receive,” said Jamey.
The commission is debating whether or not to continue sponsoring the Idaho Potato Bowl, which pits the Mountain West Conference champion against the Mid American Conference champion, and will next be played on December 23rd on the blue turf at Boise State University. It is considering a new sponsorship for IPC at the South Beach Food & Wine Festival Burger Bash which is held each February in Miami and popular with visitors from around the world.
The latter features a burger challenge and a side dish challenge where entries must feature an Idaho potato.
The IPC is also working on hosting a French fry eating contest, with Major League Eating Champion Joey Chestnut as an invited guest, at a food festiveal that will take place to coincide ith National French Fry Day at Ocean City next July.
Diabetes awareness
Now in its second year, the IPC partnership with the American Diabetes Association is going strong and helping Idaho potatoes shed some of the negative connotations people had about potatoes adversely affecting those with diabetes.
“It’s helping us claw back some business we lost when the Atkins diet was so popular years ago,” Jamey said, adding that while Idaho is the only potato that received approval to include the ADA seal on packaging, the partnership helps the entire potato category. He said IPC would like to “super charge” its collaboration with the ADA, and part of the plan includes working with nutrition writers more in the future.
IPC has become known for its creative television ad spots, especially recent ones featuring Idaho potato grower Mark Coombs and his beloved bloodhound in search of the Big Idaho Potato Truck, narrowly missing it in each commercial.
A new campaign will focus on the need to verify that potatoes are genuine Idaho potatoes and a clip shown of this revealed seedy street vendors peddling those that weren’t genuine. Another previewed advert showed a family at the dinner table, with the authenticity of the mashed potatoes they were eating called into question.
The popular Potato Lovers Month retail display contest continues to grow in popularity, with entries up 21% up on last year.
Source: The Produce News
