b'The Truth About Fresh Potato MarketingWhy are fresh potatoes marketed by category type andnot by the variety?BY: ASHLEY ROBINSONFOR YEARS, SOME consumers have struggled to buy the right potatoes. Going into stores they may assume all red or yellow potatoes are the same, but that isnt always the case. They may look around the produce aisle and question why potatoes arent sold by variety like apples, or wonder if theres something wrong with the potatoes they had bought that day and didnt cook as expected.Sometimes its a catastrophic failure. And thats the worst thing we can happen to potatoes is that variability. People, if they have enough failures, will actually walk away and (cook other food products instead), Aron Derbidge, president of HZPC Americas Corp., says in a Zoom meeting. The versatility of potatoes has always been one of their selling features. However, if you dont use the right potato variety or type to make a dish, it may not turn out right causing consumers to shy away from spuds.Right now, whats critical in food service is convenience and really kind of leaning in on the type of potatoes that are going to be easy to turn around on menus(products) that consumers are going to recognize, RJ Harvey, culinary director at Potatoes USA, says in a Microsoft Teams interview.If consumer convenience and ease of understanding when shopping is important, then why not sell potatoes by variety name instead of category? On the grower side, this change could impact what opportunities growers have to expand and evolve their operations to meet demand.If one of the retailers went hard and drew attention to the specific variety name, maybe that year the crop could underperform, or growers could switch to different varieties that are more suited to our conditions or something. Its kind of like tying your cart to a horse thats maybe not going to be there, Mark Phillips, marketing specialist at the Prince Edward Island Potato Board, says in a phone interview.And while it may seem like these consumer problems could be solved by selling potatoes by variety, its not that easy. Some regions do sell by variety but that isnt the right fit for everywhere.A farmers market salad made with potatoes. PHOTO: POTATOES USA6SPUDSMART.COMWinter 2024'