May/June 2020 - 32

Muir: 'Potato industry has been upended'
With consumers being asked to reduce their trips to the
Since mid-March
IDAHO POTATO
COMMISSION
Frank Muir
President and CEO
when Americans were
encouraged to stay
home to help reduce
the spread of the
novel coronavirus, the
Idaho potato industry
has been upended.
From unprecedented
demand at retail,
to a close to 50%
decline in restaurant
transactions across
the country to a
potentially smaller 2020 crop due to cuts
from frozen processors, every sector of the
Idaho potato industry has been impacted.
The Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) has
virtually kept its doors open during this
pandemic, putting measures in place to
protect the staff so they can continue to
safely work and not miss a beat in
addressing the issues facing our industry.
RETAIL
At retail, during the month of March,
potatoes led the produce category with a
grocery store to every two weeks we're seeing an increase in
sales of larger size bags of potatoes.
65% increase in volume. With consumers
being asked to reduce their trips to the
grocery store to every two weeks we're
seeing an increase in sales of larger size
bags of potatoes. We're also seeing a large
number of foodservice-size potatoes enter
the retail market. In response, the IPC is
moving 10-ounce and larger potatoes into
bags and launching a jumbo bin promotion.
Feedback from shippers and retailers has
been exceptionally strong with participation
increasing daily. The promotion applies to
product shipped between April and May.
FOODSERVICE
The foodservice industry expects to see
between 5 and 7 million hospitality service
workers lose their jobs in the next three
months. For the week ending March 28,
total restaurant transactions were down
42%. It's estimated that more than 97% of
all U.S. commercial restaurant locations are
restricted to off-premise sales only.
In response, the IPC is proactively reaching
out to distributors with non-commercial
accounts (e.g., healthcare and military), as
they are serving more people versus fewer. The
proposals and ideas being presented involve
a cost-efficient, nutrient-dense, versatile
and portable food product that can solve
numerous needs for the various channels.
Additionally, the IPC changed the website
banner on the main foodservice page and is
directing operators to recipes well-suited for
take-out/delivery.
Lastly, the IPC is providing support to
the devastated industry by partnering with
a nonprofit industry organization, CORE
(Children of Restaurant Employees). The IPC
will hire chefs to develop new recipes for the
IPC's foodservice recipe database and the
chefs will donate their fees to CORE. The
campaign and its supporters will be featured in
the June issue of Flavor & The Menu magazine.
CONSUMER OUTREACH
With so many consumers purchasing larger
* Gentle: Sorts without damaging potatoes
* Accurate: Precisely grades potatoes of all shapes and varieties
* Fast: Thirteen standard models custom-designed to meet your needs. Sort from
1,000 lbs./hr to 100,000 lbs./hr.
* Simple: Effective but simple design provides a rugged, low cost, low maintenance
machine at a high value to our customers. It can even be used in the field!
* Versatile: Specialized rollers allow for accurate sizing of round potatoes (reds,
yellows, whites) as well as long potatoes such as russets.
KERIAN MACHINES INC.
1709 Hwy 81 S, P.O. Box 311, Grafton, N.D. 58237
Phone: (701) 352-0480 * Fax: (701) 352-3776
Web site: www.kerian.com * E-Mail: sales@kerian.com
32
Spudman.com
than usual amounts of potatoes, we launched
an educational campaign featuring tips on
how to properly store potatoes so they last as
long as possible. The tips were distributed to
500-plus news outlets around the country and
via an audio news release reaching 12 million
listeners on 1,200 unique radio stations in all
top 25 markets. We've also started distributing
our monthly recipe newsletter, " Let's Eat, " every
week inspiring readers to try new and different
potato dishes. And, the IPC's social media
engine continues to keep Idaho potatoes top
of mind for close to 75,000 followers.
Unfortunately, we had to call the Big Idaho
Potato Truck home in early March. As soon
as stay at home orders are lifted, the Truck
and the Tater Team will be back on the road
promoting America's favorite vegetable.
We are doing everything in our power to
help the Idaho potato industry through these
uncertain times. Stay safe and God bless.
http://www.kerian.com http://www.Spudman.com
May/June 2020

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