The Campaign
Potandon Produce, the exclusive North American licensee of the Green Giant Fresh brand for potatoes and onions, has activated a large-scale digital billboard in Times Square that will run through October 31. The creative spans two connected screens and depicts the iconic Green Giant character moving through the space before an abundance of fresh potatoes and onions fills the display — closing with the tagline "Live the Giant Life."
The installation was designed specifically for the scale and architectural layout of the Times Square screen array, creating what the brand describes as the illusion of physical movement across the displays. Chief Marketing Officer John Rota called the format a natural fit for a character whose equity is built on outsized presence. "The architecture of the screens amplifies his enormous footsteps and dramatic descent, culminating in an explosion of fresh potatoes and onions," Rota said. "It's big, fun and memorable."
Retail Lift Strategy
For Potandon's retail partners, the Times Square moment is as much a category-development play as a consumer-awareness push. Fresh potatoes and onions are high-velocity commodity categories where brand differentiation is structurally difficult; attaching a licensed name with more than 90% consumer recognition to a produce item is a proven mechanism for shelfspace negotiation and shopper pull-through. JP Sureus, Head of Sales at Potandon Produce, framed the campaign explicitly in those terms: the combination of iconic national branding and Potandon's supply-chain depth — a nationwide grower network and continuous pack operations headquartered in Idaho Falls — is the retail value proposition the Times Square activation is meant to dramatize.
The out-of-home buy will be extended through social media, original video content, and a public-relations push designed to carry the Times Square footage into markets well beyond New York City. Retailers, growers, and foodservice buyers can engage with the content through Potandon's @greengiantfreshpo Instagram handle.
Context for Operators
For foodservice operators sourcing commodity produce, branded fresh programs from suppliers like Potandon represent a supply-chain shortcut: consistent spec, reliable throughput, and a consumer-facing name that can carry menu callouts. The potato and onion categories have faced cost pressure over recent crop cycles, and supplier-level brand investment of this visibility signals category confidence rather than defensive positioning. CEO Des Hague described the campaign as "a bold celebration of the brand's legacy, the growers behind our fresh potatoes and onions, and the energy" the marketing team is building around the Green Giant Fresh platform.
The Times Square run also lands ahead of the fall menu-planning window, when QSR and fast-casual chains typically lock in commodity contracts and promotional LTO ingredients for Q1. For distributors and broadline buyers, a high-profile brand moment timed to that window is rarely accidental.
Potandon's move reflects a broader trend in fresh produce where supplier-side branding and category management investment are increasingly expected by retail and foodservice channel partners as part of the commercial relationship — not simply a consumer-marketing add-on.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
