Bakersfield, Calif.-based Country Sweet Produce’s Bako Sweet label has redesigned its conventional and organic mesh bags as well as its Single Sweet stickers.
Alexandra Rae Molumby, director of marketing for the company, said the new stickers have a bold design that is easy to recognize and can be easily peeled off to uncover simple microwaving instructions and a QR code that leads to the brand’s website.
“We’ve also been able to reduce packaging materials by making the sticker two-paneled, rather than the original four-page booklet,” she said.
Easter pull
Easter is the third largest holiday in terms of sweet potato sales because of the traditional use of sweet potatoes in many Easter recipes, Molumby said.
“As a result, we make sure to give our shoppers plenty of Easter recipe ideas on our Pinterest page,” she said. “We have also partnered with two influencers this month — Jean Choi from What Great Grandma Ate and Mackenzie Burgess, registered dietitian from Cheerful Choices — who are sharing the health and flavor benefits of adding sweet potatoes to Easter tables.”
Molumby said that while the potato category has made enormous strides in innovation in recent years, the sweet potato category has produced fewer value-added packaged products.
“That is why Bako Sweet is at the forefront of driving the sweet potato category forward,” she said. “We offer unique products and merchandising solutions that will help make retailers’ sweet potatoes section a destination for shoppers.”
The recipes at Bako Sweet’s Instagram page include Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Garlic Brown Butter and Smashed Sweet Potatoes.
Retailers must be ready for the Easter holiday rush by having plenty of inventory on hand.
“We also recommend that retailers prioritize sweet potato displays,” Molumby said.
According to the 2018 Sweet Potato Buyer Attitude & Usage Study by the United States Sweet Potato Council, 22% of those surveyed indicated that sweet potatoes are displayed in unattractive ways in their supermarket, she said.
“Bako Sweet makes this easier on produce managers by giving them a high-quality sweet potato product with beautiful packaging that doesn’t need much help to capture shopper attention,” Molumby said. “You can also only find consistently sized, triple-washed sweet potatoes with Bako Sweet, which provides shoppers with consistency and less prep work.”
Last year, Bako Sweet’s online delivery shoppers started stocking up on sweet potatoes two weeks prior to the holiday, she said.
“Looking ahead, we understand that shoppers are on the hunt for products that take less work and provide a heightened eating experience,” Molumby said.
“That’s why our triple-washed, value-added sweet potato solutions are the perfect elevation to the sweet potato category this Easter and beyond.”
Bako Sweet growers plant their sweet potato crop in the late spring and then transplant them into fields by June. Harvest will occur from August through November.
