Trade Mission coordinated with WUSATA and the Idaho Potato Commission and executed to increase the market share of Idaho potatoes in new countries of Latin America.
On January 2013, the Idaho Potato Commission in alliance with WUSATA (Western United States Agricultural Trade Association) participated in a Trade Mission to Panama and Colombia.
Several Idaho Potato growers and processors scouted the market and established business relationships with retailers, importers and potential distributors of Idaho Potatoes. The objective of the mission was to learn more regarding the opportunities of this Latin America markets. Idaho potatoes producers and processors prospered in the market and established commercial relationships with potential retailers, importers and distributors for the brand.
The results were effective, as one of the largest retail chains in Panama generated their first purchase order, shortly after the trade mission.
The cooking workshop was coordinated by the Idaho Potato Commission on October and carried out in the British American School.
Parents, professors and media experienced the workshop with the chef Natalia Delgado, ambassador of the Idaho Potato Commission. Natalia promoted the “Good Eating” and highlighted the nutritional benefits of including Idaho potatoes in their daily diet.
Participants discovered the versatility of the products by cooking unique recipes with dehydrated as more than just mashed potato.
Below you will find some pictures of the Cooking Workshop.
As part of the consumer program of the Idaho Potato Commission, Imalinx created a strategy where Idaho products participated in the menu “The month of United States” of the restaurant chain Sanborn’s.
During July 2012, the USA menu was featured in all 200 Sanborns restaurants nationwide. The IPC participated with the inclusion of 2 different dishes featuring Idaho mashed potato.
The objective of the strategy was to generate brand awareness of Idaho mashed potatoes, and its quality. In addition, to position the brand and integrate the product in the daily diet of the smallest members of the family.
Different POS materials were used to support the program. Tent cards, posters, banners and newspaper ads were part of the campaign, all of which included the Grown in Idaho logo. Imalinx representative on behalf of the IPC also negotiated to have Spuddy Buddy visit 10 restaurants in Mexico City to create brand awareness among consumers.
The interaction between children and Spuddy Buddy was the most successful as 70% of children ordered a dish with potatoes, asked for pictures with Spuddy motley.
According to the sales information Sanborn´s provided us, in all 16,160 dishes featuring Idaho mashed Potato were sold over a 1-month period.
On May 23rd, 2012, the Idaho Potato Commission was contacted through Imalinx with a special request for taking Idaho Potatoes to the presentation of chef Willow Benet (chef of the restaurant Pikayo in Puerto Rico), within the event Madrid Fusión, an international competition of gastronomy carried out for the first time in Mexico.
The key messages of versatility and quality of the product were reinforced during the presentation of the event. A pre-baked frozen potato was used, and a new presentation was exhibited to the market.
The participant chefs and distributors showed high interest on learning more about the different presentations of Idaho potatoes.
The Idaho Potato Commission elaborated a market research in frontier states with the United States in order to explore the positioning of Idaho as the main origin of potatoes and the use of Russet potatoes in comparison with other varieties.
The conclusion showed that there exists a big opportunity to communicate the presence of different varieties of potatoes other than the white potato, especially in the eastern region of Mexico; as well as communicating the high-quality standard of Idaho as an origin which is recognized in the United States.
A two-week promotion was undertaken in stores of Gigante in Reynosa and Matamoros. The program included a massive exhibition of potatoes in the produce department where a free potato and educational materials were given away to each client who visited the store. Sales increased to double digits.