Young families hold key to potato’s future

While the recession has seen consumers turn to potatoes to provide value for money, it is the older generation who are driving this demand , accounting for 71% of the boiled potatoes market.   Meanwhile young families are not only eating fewer potatoes than their parents, but show little knowledge of the new potato season itself. 

British new potatoes are a truly local crop, grown everywhere from Ayrshire through to Suffolk and Cornwall, Kent to Lincolnshire, Pembrokeshire to Cheshire. Yet four in five mums of young children  questioned didn’t know that the first British new potatoes are harvested in May, and 60 per cent said they had no idea where new potatoes are grown.   While 23 per cent said they like supporting British farmers, over a third (35 per cent) of mums with young children claimed the new potato season was not important to them .

Kathryn Race, Marketing Director at Potato Council, said: “Potato sales may be up, but it is the make-up of the market that is worrying. Housewives aged over 45 account for 66%  of the fresh potato spend so winning the support of mums with young children is key if we want the next generation to grow up loving the potato.  If consumers are not introduced to potatoes at an early age, the long term implications for the British potato industry could be significant.

“Potato growers are a vital part of the British economy, but it’s clear from this research that young families don’t understand, or simply don’t care, about the work they do.  The starts of the asparagus and strawberries seasons are celebrated nationwide, and we are encouraging consumers to think of potatoes in the same way.”

It appears that young families simply don’t ‘dig potatoes’ like their parents do, with potatoes featuring in only 59% of meals cooked by young families, but 79% of meals cooked by pensioners.  

Kathryn Race added:  “Last year we found that the younger generation lack basic cooking skills  and its clear they’re still losing out on the benefits that the humble potato has to offer.  A portion of new potatoes costs just 13p and its versatility means there’s an endless choice of easy dishes for eating in.  And at only 26kcals per new potato they’re filling without piling on the pounds.”

Throughout the summer the Potato Council and British new potato growers will be campaigning to encourage young mums to ask for local new potatoes when shopping.

British new and salad potatoes can be used for making everything from homemade potato wedges and potato salad through to potato omelette and Bombay potatoes. For new potato recipes, and hints and tips on cooking with different varieties of potatoes and nutritional information visit our recipe section.

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