A revamp of the potato fixture is being called for after a year-long consumer research project.
The Potato Council is pushing for an overhaul that would introduce colour coding and clear messages to promote potatoes in the major retailers.
The £100,000 report, Potatoes: A Fresh Outlook, was released this week and shows that eight out of 10 shoppers agree that more should be done to tell them about different varieties and would welcome clear on-pack information about what potatoes are best used for.
Nearly half of all shoppers think baking, new and white are varieties of potatoes and many link size to usage, such as small for boiling, medium for multi-purpose use and large for baking.
Four out of every 10 decide to buy potatoes only after they’ve entered the store, while three in 10 decide to buy on the day.
Almost half of shoppers do not know how much they pay for potatoes when they have just bought them. The volume of potatoes sold on promotion in the past couple of years has declined from around half of all volume sales in 2008 to less than 40 per cent last year without knocking overall sales values.
Kantar Worldpanel figures show that the fresh potato market is worth £1 billion, with value growth nudging upwards at 1.5 per cent and household penetration at 96 per cent.
Caroline Evans of the Potato Council said: “The key is to focus on differentiation not commoditisation to encourage shoppers to understand the offer and make a conscious choice.”
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