Conversations at United — Brian Klesmith with RPE

Bancroft, Wis.-based RPE, the sales and marketing arm for the Wysocki Family of Cos., discussed at its United Fresh Live! booth products including the American Blend, which features red, white and blue bite-size potatoes in a 24-ounce bag with an American flag graphic.

The item saw great success for Memorial Day and the company is expecting the same opportunity for Fourth of July, said Brian Klesmith, senior business development manager for national accounts. RPE also spoke with booth visitors about its Nibbles product, which features what Klesmith called “the world’s smallest potato,” measuring 10-20 millimeters. He noted that a 16-ounce bag includes 70-80 potatoes, and the offering has gotten good reception so far, including from kids.

As for the experience at the industry’s first virtual trade show, launched due to event and travel restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic, Klesmith mentioned the analytics tool of the platform as a plus.

“You can kind of see where the retailers are going,” Klesmith said. “It gives us a feel for what they like and maybe the directions that we need to go in the future.”

He also noted that the virtual booth, which has places to feature documents, videos and other brand assets, also exposes attendees to more information than they might be able to absorb during an in-person show.

“For the retailer, it gives a little bit better scope, maybe, of things that we’re able to do, rather than just talking on the floor about one individual product,” Klesmith said.

For more supplier updates from United Fresh, check out the following:

• Conversations at United — Aaron Acosta with Villita Avocados
• Conversations at United — Brianna Shales with Stemilt
• Conversations at United — Michael Castagnetto with Robinson Fresh
• Conversations at United — Amber Maloney with Wish Farms
• Conversations at United — Nelia Alamo with Renaissance Food Group
• Conversations at United — Leona Neill with Red Sun Farms