North Carolina SweetPotato Commission continues strong promotions
North Carolina SweetPotato Commission continues strong promotions
The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission, based in Smithfield, NC, is combating the U.S. trend to eat sweet potatoes only on Thanksgiving and other holidays through a promotional campaign targeting numerous markets.
The commission is an independent, member-based nonprofit commodity group. Its membership, now over 400 strong, is comprised of growers who farm a minimum of one acre of sweet potatoes in the state.
"We produce more sweet potatoes than any other state -- nearly 40 percent of the annual [domestic] supply," said Sue Johnson-Langdon, executive director the commission. "The annual consumption of sweet potatoes in the country is 4.7 pounds per person, and the majority of the consumption is on Thanksgiving Day every year."
But Ms. Johnson-Langdon said that the holiday-only trend is changing. Thanks to the strong media attention the product is receiving and the heavy promotion and marketing done by producers, distributors, commissions, councils and others, sweet potatoes are making regular appearances on restaurant and foodservice operation menus, as well as on home dinner tables -- and on a year-round basis.
Ms. Johnson-Langdon is an outstanding proponent of the sweet potato industry. Her efforts to get the commission's message out to retailers, foodservice operators and consumers have proven highly successful. She promotes sweet potatoes across the United States and in Europe with an unequaled amount of tenacity and determination. This year's marketing efforts are as strong as those in past years.
"We have several new programs," she said. "Besides exhibiting at trade shows, we also send out about 500 press releases to the media on a regular basis that help to keep the press and related entities updated on important information related to sweet potatoes."
Much of the commission's recent attention and focus has been, however, on promoting sweet potatoes in the United Kingdom.
"We have been shipping North Carolina sweet potatoes to the U.K. for a few years, but shipments have more than doubled in the past year alone," said Ms. Johnson-Langdon. The British consider sweet potatoes an exotic vegetable, and see the item as sexy and trendy. American's nostalgia places sweet potatoes on the Thanksgiving table, but consumers in the United Kingdom have no such memory. They also like to incorporate the item into savory dishes as opposed to the candied recipes that are traditional in the United States. For example, recipes such as curried sweet potatoes or risotto with sweet potatoes are popular among the British. They also do a lot of baking with the item, such as including it in bread pudding.
Ms. Johnson-Langdon traveled with some associates to exhibit at The Restaurant Show in London, which ran from Sept. 19-21. The commission's chef, Brent McIntire, was in attendance and prepared recipes. He also provided tips on how to choose product, how to handle and store sweet potatoes, and he offered preparation techniques.
"It was a chef-to-chef experience," said Ms. Johnson- Langdon. "We received a very favorable reaction, and many people said we were the hit of the show. In all, about 9,000 people from around the world visited our booth." The commission is also having great success with its "North Carolina Sweet Potato Recipe Club. Ms. Johnson-Langdon said that it is a consumer-driven program that provides 80 three- by five-inch recipe cards, mailed by post, and if consumers request it, a quarterly newsletter.
"The club was kicked off in July of this year and it was successful from the start," she said. "Our first mailings exceeded 3,000 membership packages. We also included a questionnaire, and we have received a return of about 2 percent - a high return for this type of survey. The club continues to enjoy great success through daily signups on our web site. There are no membership restrictions, and we invite everyone to join and enjoy the benefits."
The commission's newsletters are packed with valuable information. The fall edition featured Shawn Wellersdick, chef and co-owner of the Port Land Grille in Wilmington, NC, and Sara Foster, chef-owner of Foster's Market in Durham, NC, and Chapel Hill, NC, and several other top chefs in the state. The bulletins also include recipes, a Q&A on sweet potato issues to which Ms. Johnson-Langdon personally responds, discussions of harvesting topics and information on the nutritional aspects of sweet potatoes.
Regarding the 2005 sweet potato crop in North Carolina, Ms. Johnson-Langdon said that acreage is down by 5-6 percent, and the harvest was delayed a bit because of the dry weather. However, early indications are that the quality will be very good this year. Because last year's crop was the largest ever recorded, grower-shippers will be able to compensate for the shortage with existing supplies. The environmental storage systems used today will keep sweet potatoes for up to 15 months and still deliver them as fresh as the day they were harvested.
A few years ago, the commission developed an advisory board comprised of chefs from throughout North Carolina. Ms. Johnson-Langdon said that 13 chefs now serve on the board. Chef-members support North Carolina sweet potatoes by developing recipes and offering them on their menus. They also help to promote the item as representatives in chef cook-offs, special media appearances and other venues in the state and when they travel.
The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission continues with its many other projects and involvements, and it constantly works on finding new ways to promote the product in the United States as well as around the world. It also continues to fund research conducted at the North Carolina State University in Raleigh for a sweet potato breeding program. The work is carried on at the school's Micopropagation Center, where weed, pest management and horticulture practices are developed.
One thing is certain: As long as Sue Johnson-Langdon is involved, there will always be new projects and programs in the works at the commission, and North Carolina sweet potatoes will continue to enjoy strong and effective promotional and marketing campaigns.
(A full report on sweet potatoes appears in the Oct. 24 issue of The Produce News.)
The commission is an independent, member-based nonprofit commodity group. Its membership, now over 400 strong, is comprised of growers who farm a minimum of one acre of sweet potatoes in the state.
"We produce more sweet potatoes than any other state -- nearly 40 percent of the annual [domestic] supply," said Sue Johnson-Langdon, executive director the commission. "The annual consumption of sweet potatoes in the country is 4.7 pounds per person, and the majority of the consumption is on Thanksgiving Day every year."
But Ms. Johnson-Langdon said that the holiday-only trend is changing. Thanks to the strong media attention the product is receiving and the heavy promotion and marketing done by producers, distributors, commissions, councils and others, sweet potatoes are making regular appearances on restaurant and foodservice operation menus, as well as on home dinner tables -- and on a year-round basis.
Ms. Johnson-Langdon is an outstanding proponent of the sweet potato industry. Her efforts to get the commission's message out to retailers, foodservice operators and consumers have proven highly successful. She promotes sweet potatoes across the United States and in Europe with an unequaled amount of tenacity and determination. This year's marketing efforts are as strong as those in past years.
"We have several new programs," she said. "Besides exhibiting at trade shows, we also send out about 500 press releases to the media on a regular basis that help to keep the press and related entities updated on important information related to sweet potatoes."
Much of the commission's recent attention and focus has been, however, on promoting sweet potatoes in the United Kingdom.
"We have been shipping North Carolina sweet potatoes to the U.K. for a few years, but shipments have more than doubled in the past year alone," said Ms. Johnson-Langdon. The British consider sweet potatoes an exotic vegetable, and see the item as sexy and trendy. American's nostalgia places sweet potatoes on the Thanksgiving table, but consumers in the United Kingdom have no such memory. They also like to incorporate the item into savory dishes as opposed to the candied recipes that are traditional in the United States. For example, recipes such as curried sweet potatoes or risotto with sweet potatoes are popular among the British. They also do a lot of baking with the item, such as including it in bread pudding.
Ms. Johnson-Langdon traveled with some associates to exhibit at The Restaurant Show in London, which ran from Sept. 19-21. The commission's chef, Brent McIntire, was in attendance and prepared recipes. He also provided tips on how to choose product, how to handle and store sweet potatoes, and he offered preparation techniques.
"It was a chef-to-chef experience," said Ms. Johnson- Langdon. "We received a very favorable reaction, and many people said we were the hit of the show. In all, about 9,000 people from around the world visited our booth." The commission is also having great success with its "North Carolina Sweet Potato Recipe Club. Ms. Johnson-Langdon said that it is a consumer-driven program that provides 80 three- by five-inch recipe cards, mailed by post, and if consumers request it, a quarterly newsletter.
"The club was kicked off in July of this year and it was successful from the start," she said. "Our first mailings exceeded 3,000 membership packages. We also included a questionnaire, and we have received a return of about 2 percent - a high return for this type of survey. The club continues to enjoy great success through daily signups on our web site. There are no membership restrictions, and we invite everyone to join and enjoy the benefits."
The commission's newsletters are packed with valuable information. The fall edition featured Shawn Wellersdick, chef and co-owner of the Port Land Grille in Wilmington, NC, and Sara Foster, chef-owner of Foster's Market in Durham, NC, and Chapel Hill, NC, and several other top chefs in the state. The bulletins also include recipes, a Q&A on sweet potato issues to which Ms. Johnson-Langdon personally responds, discussions of harvesting topics and information on the nutritional aspects of sweet potatoes.
Regarding the 2005 sweet potato crop in North Carolina, Ms. Johnson-Langdon said that acreage is down by 5-6 percent, and the harvest was delayed a bit because of the dry weather. However, early indications are that the quality will be very good this year. Because last year's crop was the largest ever recorded, grower-shippers will be able to compensate for the shortage with existing supplies. The environmental storage systems used today will keep sweet potatoes for up to 15 months and still deliver them as fresh as the day they were harvested.
A few years ago, the commission developed an advisory board comprised of chefs from throughout North Carolina. Ms. Johnson-Langdon said that 13 chefs now serve on the board. Chef-members support North Carolina sweet potatoes by developing recipes and offering them on their menus. They also help to promote the item as representatives in chef cook-offs, special media appearances and other venues in the state and when they travel.
The North Carolina SweetPotato Commission continues with its many other projects and involvements, and it constantly works on finding new ways to promote the product in the United States as well as around the world. It also continues to fund research conducted at the North Carolina State University in Raleigh for a sweet potato breeding program. The work is carried on at the school's Micopropagation Center, where weed, pest management and horticulture practices are developed.
One thing is certain: As long as Sue Johnson-Langdon is involved, there will always be new projects and programs in the works at the commission, and North Carolina sweet potatoes will continue to enjoy strong and effective promotional and marketing campaigns.
(A full report on sweet potatoes appears in the Oct. 24 issue of The Produce News.)
