Hen House Extends Celebration of Potato Lover’s Month

Kansas City, Mo.-area grocery chain Hen House celebrated Potato Lover’s Month with a storewide “spudtacular” promotion that included culinary demos, giveaways and an abundant supply of Idaho spuds.

In Kansas City, the grocer’s dietitian, Jennifer Egeland, along with Jasper Mirable, chef and owner of local Italian dining destination Jasper’s Restaurant, shared their expert potato expertise to drive customers to the store and generate local press coverage for the big event.

As competitors in the Idaho Potato Commission’s Potato Lover’s Month Retail Display Contest, Hen House featured a collection of creative displays in many of their stores using marketing materials provided by the group. “Hen House went above and beyond the traditional potato display contest and took Potato Lover’s Month to a whole new level,” said Seth Pemsler, the commission’s vice president for retail/international. “By offering cooking advice from Chef Jasper, hosting storewide promotions, coordinating radio promotions and using the IPC’s mascot, Spuddy Buddy, to help promote the goodness of Idaho potatoes, Hen House was able to successfully engage consumers in this celebratory event on many different levels.”

Mirabile conducted several radio interviews and, along with Spuddy Buddy, presented delicious potato dishes to early-morning radio hosts. Egeland joined the team as well, offering expert insight on the nutritional benefits of potatoes. The radio stations gave away three $50 Hen House gift certificates to lucky listeners.

Spuddy Buddy, with a Hen House representative, greeted shoppers during the store’s Potato Lover’s Month promotions.

“To gear up for Potato Lover’s Month and IPC’s annual display contest, we decided to take things up a notch and put together an engaging and interactive storewide celebration,” said Lou Malaponti, director of produce/floral operations for Balls Food Stores, owner of Hen House Markets. “Potatoes are an incredibly versatile, nutritious and economical meal option, and we wanted to help remind our shoppers of that.”

Idaho potato promotion occurred in all Hen House markets, and select stores held cooking demos where customers learned to create perfect potato dishes with Mrs. Dash seasoning. Spuddy Buddy greeted shoppers at six Hen House markets in Kansas and one in Missouri. For more information visit www.henhouse.com.

The Idaho Potato Commission is a state agency that is primarily responsible for expanding the markets for Idaho-grown potatoes through advertising, promotion and research.
 

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