‘Potato surprises’: Successful EU campaign continues to promote potatoes among millennials until 2025

Following the success of the promotional campaign “Potatoes, prepare to be surprised – Europe’s favourite since 1536,” which launched in 2020 and concluded at the end of last year, Bord Bia, Europatat, and VLAM have decided to extend the program’s activities for three more years.

This joint initiative, co-financed by the European Commission under the EU Promotion policy, will run until December 2025 to promote fresh potato consumption among millennials in Belgium, France, and Ireland.

Fresh potatoes continue to be Europe’s most popular main meal carbohydrate, deeply ingrained in the food habits of the European Union. However, they currently face two main challenges: a long-term decrease in consumption and a stagnant image as a traditional food.

This trend has led to reduced potato consumption across various age groups, particularly among 18 to 34-year-olds living independently, cohabiting, or with young families (the so-called millennials).

To counter this consumption trend, the new campaign will focus on reinforcing the role of fresh potatoes in millennials’ minds and lives with a clear message: potatoes are compatible with a modern, healthy, and sustainable lifestyle, offering taste, versatility, and high-quality nutrition and health benefits!

To encourage millennials to incorporate potatoes into their daily routines easily, 60 new, surprising potato recipes will be added to the 300 already available on the website www.preparetobesurprised.eu and social media profiles (mainly Instagram) for Belgium, France, and Ireland.

Additionally, a series of activities centered around “potato surprises” (e.g., mini-events, contests, etc.) involving influencers will occur in the three countries over the next three years.

Furthermore, a series of “Did you know” animations highlighting cooking skills, potato storage, sustainability tips, and facts will be developed in seven languages to reach more millennials across Europe.

The project “Potatoes, prepare to be surprised – Europe’s favourite since 1536” is coordinated by VLAM, with Europatat and Bord Bia as partners. The program has a total budget of EUR 3,425,608.00 and a requested grant of EUR 2,740,486.40 (80% of the total budget).

For more information on the campaign please contact: