BOISE, ID — The Idaho Potato Commission’s popular Idaho Potato Lover’s Month retail display contest is in its 22nd year, and Jamie Bowen, marketing manager for the commission, expects to see more than 2,500 entries this year, topping the previous record set in 2011.

Watson Mulhern LLC, a leading Washington-based food and agriculture issues management and policy firm, announced that Randy Green joined as principal Jan. 1 and that Watson Mulhern will collaborate with Mr. Green’s former firm, McLeod, Watkinson & Miller, to enhance both firms’ capacities to serve clients.

Rene van Rems Industry buyers, as well as design and merchandising professionals, want to know what the trends are.

Last year in this space, I pointed out a few trends that are happening in the entire store and how they can affect floral holiday sales in supermarkets. Those points were:

• Customers are looking mostly for value today,

• Customers want to be connected today, and

• Customers are making fewer trips but buying more each trip.

I believe that each of these predictions was on target, and that if supermarket floral departments focused on action plans related to these trends, they had a good chance for growth in 2012.

Transportation has been called “the forgotten link” in the chain of flower distribution for a good reason. The flower supply chain is commonly thought of as grower to importer to bouquet maker or wholesale florist to retailer, forgetting how many companies and people are involved with getting flowers from one of those links to another.

Supervalu Inc. announced Jan. 10 that it will sell its Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's and Star Market stores and related Osco and Sav-on in-store pharmacies to AB Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of a Cerberus Capital Management L.P.-led investor consortium, in a transaction valued at $3.3 billion.

The sale to AB Acquisition includes 877 stores for $100 million in cash. Additionally, the group will assume $3.2 billion in existing debt, according to a press release issued by Supervalu.