Retailers: Boost Your Sweet Potato Profile

Today’s sweet potato buyer is health-conscious and looking for year-round versatility.

Sweet potatoes have gained popularity as consumers seek healthy products, so it might be time for produce managers and executives to reexamine the opportunities the commodity offers.

Phil Penta, managing partner, Three Guys from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY, says his store combines visibility and bulk displays that let shoppers know the store always has plenty of volume, along with signage that clearly identifies all varieties of root crops he offers in a store with a multi-ethnic clientele.

“At Three Guys from Brooklyn, we stick to our game plan: straightforward, high-volume merchandising that focuses on value, freshness and visibility,” says Penta. “We typically offer sweet potatoes in bulk, rather than packaged, since our customers like to select their own, and it helps us keep prices competitive.”

“We usually carry the traditional, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, but when cost and availability allow, we also bring in Japanese sweet potatoes,” Penta adds. “They’ve really grown in popularity with customers looking for a sweeter, nuttier option, and they shine when roasted. We sometimes carry purple varieties, too, though those are more niche and, again, depend on sourcing and pricing.”

Dani Cavagnaro, produce manager for Argus Farm Stop, Ann Arbor, MI, says because the operation, with three outlets, carries only local produce, its sweet potato season is November to February or March, depending on availability. Still, Argus customers not only look forward to sweet potato time, but they are also fond of multiple varieties.

“We have traditional, but we also do purple and Garnet sweet potatoes,” she says.

Cavagnaro adds that purple has a particular following for its sweeter, “kickier” flavor and fluffier consistency when cooked.

Argus does bulk merchandising for sweet potatoes and designates varieties of root crops to ensure shoppers have an easy reference. Argus also has an advantage when it comes to helping customers find what they want, Cavagnaro says. “We have a good staff that is very knowledgeable. We can give individual attention to customers.”

SALES ARE SWEET

The numbers suggest that putting a little extra effort into sweet potatoes makes sense. According to Circana, total U.S. sweet potato/yam sales results from grocery, drug, mass market, military and select club, dollar, beauty and online retailers totaled $813.6 million, up 8.8% for the 52 weeks ending May 18. The Circana category of red/orangey red flesh sweet potatoes/yams led in sales at $524.5 million, up 9.7% year over year, with white fresh sweet potatoes/yams following at $158.9 million, up 10.1% and golden fresh sweet potatoes/yams coming in at $95.6 million, up 3.1%.

Sand Candy, Rocky Mount, NC, a collaboration between Bland Farms and Battleboro Produce, says the sweet potato customer today includes the traditional and the trend-forward.

“The sweet potato customer has traditionally been a seasonal shopper,” says Troy Bland, chief executive of Bland Farms, Glennville, GA, “someone who reaches for this vibrant root vegetable during the holidays, especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas. But that’s changing. Today’s sweet potato buyer is increasingly health-conscious, diverse in age, and looking for year-round versatility.”

Attitudes toward sweet potatoes are influenced by restaurants that have been putting them on the menu more as options for, among others, vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free patrons. As such, Marc Turner, general manager, Bushwick Potato Commission, Farmingdale, NY, says retail, and even foodservice operators, can look to innovative restaurants for ideas about how to boost sweet potato sales.

Bushwick does a significant foodservice business and has seen the impact of items, such as sweet potato fries, acting as a starting point to other dishes.

“I feel that the biggest growth is coming through foodservice,” Turner says. “Restaurants that are increasingly using sweet potatoes in their dishes are making the bigger impact.”

Susan Noritake, vice president of sales and marketing at Bako Sweet, Bakersfield, CA, says the target audience for sweet potatoes is evolving.

“Sweet potatoes have an opportunity for success with Millennials who are health-conscious and convenience-focused, making packaged products ideal basket builders,” she says. “Leaning into the health-conscious mindset across generations, sweet potatoes are a nutritional standout, including supporting healthy aging, meaning there is something for everyone. Retailers having the most success utilize prominent displays for impulse buys in the non-traditional time periods, and there is a real momentum starting in category growth.”

“Retailers having the most success utilize prominent displays for impulse buys in the non-traditional time periods, and there is a real momentum starting in category growth.”
— Susan Noritake, Bako Sweet, Bakersfield, CA

Josh Kingdon, founder and chief operating officer of Sweetpotato Awesome, Las Vegas, NV, which freeze-dries fresh products into better-for-you snacks, notes that the range of items using the tuber, from treats to fries, is based on, but also underscores, nutritional value. “Most consumers recognize that they are healthy,” he says.

TAP INTO CONVENIENCE FACTOR

David Bradley, director of business development, Nash Produce, Nashville, NC, notes that consumers are interested in health and in flavor, but they’re also interested in convenience, so the company offers boxed, individual and 1.5-pound Steamable Sweets mini sweet potatoes in ready-to-microwave packs, as well as four-count trays and 2-, 3- and 5-pound mesh bags.

He emphasizes that offering an attractive product is important to success, but convenience is important to consumers today and can drive growth among those shoppers who prefer grab-and-go items.

“First and foremost now, is convenience,” says Bradley. “You want to gear your packaging to where it is consumer convenience-focused, so they don’t have to sit there and select through a bunch of sweet potatoes to find the right one.”

When it comes to merchandising considerations, Christy Griggs, sales/logistics at Topashaw Farms, Vardaman, MS, says varieties are important in certain cultural and ethnic circumstances. At the same time, younger consumers in general are looking for new, healthy foods, and food retailers can engage their consumer curiosity. Griggs says that will work best when displays are enticing.

“A nice, clean display with added color helps draw attention.”

Bland recommends a hybrid approach: “Position sweet potatoes near the regular potato set, but give them distinct signage and space so they don’t get visually lost.”

He adds that including organic and conventional SKUs side by side can be a smart move, offering shoppers choice, but so is offering items that satisfy different prep preferences, including microwavable, individual, steamable and bagged.

“The most effective retailers treat sweet potatoes not just as a commodity but as a feature-worthy, versatile staple,” says Bland.

Norman Brown, director of sweet potato sales at Wada Farms, headquartered in Idaho Falls, ID, says both conventional and organic sweet potatoes have been coming on, with organic getting a lot of attention from retailers and consumers. He says it relates to consumers wanting to eat healthier, and sweet potatoes are a way to do that.

Brown says sweet potatoes are not only bigger on restaurant menus, but on prepared dishes and meals. In his vicinity, many health-oriented food retailers offer prepared grab-and-go meals these days, “and almost everyone has a sweet potato.”

DIVERSIFY YOUR PRODUCT LINE

Where it can be done, says Commissioner Mike Strain, DVM, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF), Baton Rouge, LA, local can be a sweet potato mover, something LDAF heavily supports. And Louisiana growers are innovators who respond to trends, including Garber Farms, Iota, LA.

“What you’ve seen with Garber Farms, they will individually wrap sweet potatoes,” says Strain. “And you can grab as many as you want. They’re labeled, they’re wrapped, you can cook them. You just grab and go.”

When it comes to merchandising, food retailers can employ a range of approaches based on customer base and preferences, says Michelle Grainger, executive director, North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission, Benson, NC.

“The best retailers have placed sweet potatoes in front of the store and have invested in a mix of in-store and digital strategies.”
— Michelle Grainger, North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission, Benson, NC

“The best retailers have placed sweet potatoes in front of the store and have invested in a mix of in-store and digital strategies,” she says. “They have identified price, nutrition and education around how to cook, store, and prepare the product in an effort to better unlock stronger sales performance. Stores have invested in the spring/summer seasons by having bins and educational materials to increase impulse purchasing. They have used eye-catching bags featuring nutrition information. Cross-merchandising with ingredients commonly used in recipes, such as nuts, herbs, specialty seasonings and cheeses, has proven successful.”