For potato and onion shippers, packaging is no longer just a means of transporting their produce. It’s become a powerful marketing tool that can help product stand out at retail.
GPOD
At GPOD in Shelley, Idaho, General Manager Ryan Bybee says bags for its russet burbank potatoes are designed to showcase the GPOD label and the fact that the product comes from Idaho.
“If you’re not using packaging as a marketing tool, you’re probably falling behind,” he says. “Every single one of our bags has the Idaho seal on it beside the GPOD branding.”
In addition, the company touts the product’s health benefits with the American Heart Association seal on all of its packages and highlights the potatoes’ non-GMO status.
“We’re also very proud of the fact that all our potatoes, equipment and our facility are OU Kosher certified,” Bybee adds.
He says he helped design the current packaging when he worked on the sales desk.
The GPOD brand enjoys such a strong reputation in the Northeast, where much of its product is distributed, that the company does virtually no private-label packing.
“Our GPOD label is asked for by name,” Bybee says. “Our label is so strong in the Northeast that we pack 99% of everything under our own label.”
GPOD packs 5- and 10-pound poly bags and bulk cartons, as well as bulk bags of No. 2-grade potatoes for foodservice, Bybee says.
About 40% of its potatoes are packed in consumer-sized packages, while the remainder is sold in bulk.
Eagle Eye Produce
In Idaho Falls, Idaho, Eagle Eye Produce has its own line of brands and also packs under its customers’ private labels, says Coleman Oswald, director of sales.
“Each use attractive packaging to catch shoppers’ attention and highlight the health benefits of potatoes and onions,” he says. “Our bags also include product information and cooking suggestions, with some linking to recipes and other helpful resources to help consumers make the most of their fresh produce.”
The company has continued to invest in its packing facilities to expand its retail packaging options and capacity over the past few years, he adds.
Eagle Eye Produce offers everything from 1½-pound mini potatoes, 1-pound steamer bags, microwaveable cooking potatoes and tray packs to traditional 2-, 3-, 5- and 10-pound bags, bulk cartons, bulk bags and retail display bins, Oswald says.
“Bulk packs make up the largest share of our business,” he says, but 5- and 10-pound bags are the company’s most popular retail sizes.
“Different shoppers have different needs,” he says.
Some families prefer larger bags, and smaller households might only need a few potatoes or onions.
“Having different sizes and varieties gives shoppers more options,” Oswald says. “We’ve also seen growing interest in specialty products like baby potatoes and medleys that offer a little more convenience.”
Fox Packaging and Fox Solutions
While some grower-shippers may choose to cover their packaging with branding and other product details, Victoria Lopez, marketing and business development manager for McAllen, Texas-based Fox Packaging and Fox Solutions, says the trend has moved from full artwork and graphics toward simpler, cleaner designs.
“Especially with fresh produce, the product itself is part of the marketing,” she says. “Consumers want to be able to see the potatoes or onions and judge the quality for themselves.”
Packaging needs to communicate the brand, variety and important product information, Lopez says, but it also needs to protect the product and support shelf life.
Fox Packaging has an in-house design team that can review customers’ artwork, build a creative brief or even put together a vision board to help them think through what the next version of their package could look like, Lopez says.
But packaging today involves more than just eye-catching bags and a wide selection of options for consumers.
Extended producer responsibility, or EPR, legislation enacted in several states adds legal compliance to the list of concerns of packaging gurus.
EPR places responsibility for recycling single-use packaging on producers, and that doesn’t necessarily sit well with many of them.
“We understand the goal behind this legislation, but having to meet different requirements in every state would be costly and difficult to manage,” says Oswald of Eagle Eye Produce. “Between higher packaging costs, additional reporting and more regulations, it could add more costs to an industry already dealing with rising costs.”
Lopez of Fox Packaging points out that it is not necessarily about where a company is located that determines its responsibilities under this legislation, it’s about where its packaged products are sold or distributed and how each state defines the obligated producer.
“Customers are being asked for information like package weight, gauge, material composition, recycled content and other technical data that they may never have needed to track this closely before,” she says.
There are packaging options that may help reduce exposure depending on the state program and the application, she says, but it’s important to keep in mind the main function of the package.
“Any change has to be considered alongside shelf life, product protection, food waste and performance,” she says.
