Canada: More to potato varieties than just colour

Hoping to follow in the footsteps of the apple industry, where consumers are much more brand focused and recognise apples by variety and not just by colour, Canadian potato company EarthFreshFoods has been trialing a project called ‘Potatoes of the World’ at Sobey’s and Longos (Ontario) and is hoping to show consumers that there is more to a variety than just its colour. “When customers go shopping and they decide to buy a red potato, yellow potato, white potato or russet, but what we are trying to do, just like they do in the world of apples, is to introduce potatoes to customers by their names. For example, when someone goes to buy an apple, they don’t just buy a green apple, they buy a Granny Smith or not just a red apple, but a macintosh, gala or a honeycrisp.” explains Stephanie Cutaia, Marketing Manager of Earth Fresh Foods. The selected varieties originate from Holland, Germany and France. Each new discovery is brought back to Canada where the company grows the potatoes for several years, nurturing them in the climates and soils that suit them best. More