Fresh Potato Category Performance

Sarah Reece from the USPB shared the presentation she gave at Potato Expo on fresh potato category performance.  The presentation link is below, but some key points from the presentation include:

• In the 52 weeks ending October 25th, fresh potatoes posted the second highest dollar share at 12.3% and the highest volume share at 26.2% of all fresh vegetables.
• In quarter three 2014 dollars remained flat compared to the previous quarter. When comparing quarter 3 performance to the prior year, dollars, volume and average retail price are down.  Despite the decline in price from a year ago, quarter 3 still posted the highest average retail price in four quarters.
• When looking at the 52-week trend for potatoes, dollar sales are up 4.5%, with volume down only 2.1%.
• Volume percentage for russet potatoes versus year ago was down 6.1%. In the latest 52-weeks, 10 lb. russets still had the largest share of volume in the category, but is declining.  Almost all of the lost russet volume is from 10 pound bags.  Five pound bags, bulk and 8 pound bags all had gains.
• Small package sizes continue to grow. In the latest 52 weeks 1-4 lb. packages increased its dollar share of the category by almost a full percentage point, to make up 13.6% of the category.  This growth included specialty, petite, traditional and value added.  The same thing occurred with volume share with an increase of .6 percentage points.
• Organics continue to be an area of opportunity. The growth of organic potatoes is outpacing other areas of the store with increasing dollar sales of 35.7% and volume 27.2% for the latest 52 week period compared to the previous year.  All organic potatoes showed growth, but organic bulk potatoes posted the largest gain.
• Category management tools are available to all growers and shippers at the USPB Resource Center which can be found by visiting www.uspotatoes.com. The Resource Center provides information on USPB programs, consumer research and insights, training and category performance information.  While the Resource Center is open to everyone, you must have a username and password to access FreshFacts Lite, the PowerPoint Wizard and the Price Elasticity Tool.  You can request a password on the site.
• The presentation includes some information on how to use these tools. You can learn more about using the tools by visiting the resource center or let me know and we can set up a training for you.

View Presentation by Clicking Here