Potato Industry Launches New Campaign
By Bart Connors 
Over the last few years, all the negative publicity surrounding potatoes had even growers starting to doubt if potatoes fit into a healthy lifestyle, but it looks like things are about to change. The potato industry is launching a major new campaign both to communicate the potato’s nutritional value and to remind consumers how much they love them.
After seeing all of the work and research that went into the creation of our new Nutrition Campaign, I am totally excited. I hope consumers agree that “Potatoes . . . Goodness Unearthed™” is a message that not only gives them confidence in the nutritional value of the potato but also gives a sense of the emotional ways in which potatoes enrich our lives. I think this message communicates what both growers and consumers have in common - we all are looking for healthy, wholesome food for our families and ourselves.
So, now that we have this new message, what do we do?
As a grower and shipper of potatoes, I believe that producers are trying to deliver a good quality, healthy product to consumers. What we have not been doing is talking to consumers in a way they find current, new, hip, interesting or inviting. Today, we have the opportunity to communicate our new message in ways that can keep potatoes on consumers’ minds as they are shopping in supermarkets or ordering at restaurants.
Fellow potato industry members: don’t we want to interact with consumers in a way that is relative in today’s environment, where people are looking for fresh, healthy products? Wouldn’t it be great to see demand increase? Making that happen requires all of us uniting behind this message.
Visit the United States Potato Board’s new Web site, www.potatogoodness.com, for more about the potato industry, as well as recipes and nutrition information on America’s favorite vegetable!
