Bord Bia joins forces with promotional agencies in France and Belgium to enhance potato consumption among millennial consumers
Campaign details announced at the National Potato Conference 2020
@BordBia
Bord Bia today announced the details of a joint initiative with promotional agencies in France and Belgium to promote fresh potatoes among European millennials. Alongside CNIPT (France), VLAM (Belgium) and Europatat (EU Potato Trade Association), Bord Bia will launch a new campaign entitled “Potatoes, Prepare to be Surprised – Europe’s favourite since 1536” this Spring. The EU funded campaign will run from January 2020 to December 2022 and will encourage the consumption of fresh potatoes among millennials in Ireland, Flanders (Belgium) and France.
The hardback recipe book is packed full of delicious meal ideas suitable for brunch, lunch, dinnertime and parties, highlighting the versatility of the famous Clonakilty pudding range which is known for its characteristic oaty texture and spicy flavours.
Speaking at the National Potato Conference, organised jointly by Bord Bia, IFA and Teagasc, in the Red Cow Hotel today, Lorcan Bourke, Fresh Produce & Potato Manager, Bord Bia, said, “Today’s National Potato Conference positions the potato as the ‘Food of the Future’, celebrating the crop’s many benefits including its high nutritional content and its natural sustainability credentials. These themes will feature in the wider EU-Campaign, as we know that these are issues important to our target audience of 18-34 year olds.
While research has shown that there is little rejection of potatoes among this demographic, the campaign aims to increase the purchase frequency of millennials to future-proof potatoes within modern diets. While some millennial’s may be cooking for one at the moment, their purchase habits will evolve with lifestyle changes, so we want to continue to promote potatoes to this generation to encourage consumption.”
Speakers at today’s World Potato Conference include Stu Baker from AHDB (GB) who will speak about potatoes as a sustainable food crop, requiring less inputs than other carbohydrates; and Registered Dietitian Aoife Hearne who will discuss the purchasing habits of millennials based on their nutritional requirements, highlighting the informational ‘gaps’ that exist amongst these consumers toward potatoes.
‘Potatoes, Prepare to be Surprised’
Commencing in April 2020, the ‘Potatoes, Prepare to be Surprised’ campaign will target millennials through digital advertising, where surprising and exciting potato recipes will be showcased in a modern way to encourage this group to prepare them. This message will be further supported by social media activity, influencer partnerships and a PR campaign to provide tips and tricks on how to easily integrate potatoes into millennials’ daily lifestyles and to inform them on the health benefits of this much-loved Irish and European food.
Ireland’s Potatoes Market
It is estimated a total of 8,260 hectares of potatoes were grown in Ireland in 2019 producing 338,000 tonnes. The volume of household potato purchases in 2019 was 212,000 tonnes (Kantar Worldpanel). Last year, the retail market was valued at €235 million. Meath, Dublin, Wexford, Louth, Donegal and Cork are the largest potato growing counties with approximately 250 active commercial potato growers in Ireland
(l-r) Thomas McKeown, Potato Committee Chairman, IFA, John Spink, Teagasc, Lorcan Bourke, Fresh Produce and Potato Manager Bord Bia at the National Potato Conference which took place today at the Red Cow Moran Hotel where the details of the joint initiative were announced