Potatoes will get a three-year marketing boost from next month with the start of a £2.6m promotional campaign.

AHDB Potatoes and Irish Food Board, Bord Bia, secured funding in spring for a programme called Potato Potential, which sees the EU putting up £438,000/year for three years to match promotional cash spent by the sector boards.

The first part of this will be aimed mainly at encouraging younger consumers to buy, cook and eat more potatoes.

In particular, it will promote potatoes to 25-34-year-old women, pushing convenience, health, taste and versatility of the crop.

See also: Potato council secures EU funding for promotion

The campaign will use high-profile lifestyle magazines such as Now, Closer and Heat and digital channels such as MailOnline, to advertise using a cheeky potato character and a hero dish to show that potatoes are “more than a bit on the side”.

This message will be supported by extensive social media activity, blogger and video blogger partnerships, recipe development and a nationwide PR campaign.

 “We really need to challenge consumer perceptions of fresh potatoes – particularly among younger age groups – to combat declining sales and consumption,” said Nick White, head of marketing and corporate affairs for AHDB Potatoes.

The target audience for this first promotional push was increasingly influenced by friends and peers, said Mr White.

“Potatoes have 90% penetration [in households], which is brilliant, but the issue is the frequency, which is markedly lower in younger age groups.

“We’re building partnerships with influential people and other advocates that are active in health, cookery and fitness.

“This integrated campaign will ensure we reach consumers at every opportunity; instilling positive shopping and eating habits that will benefit the industry both now and in the long-term.”

To maximise the campaign’s impact during October, AHDB Potatoes is encouraging growers, processors, packer and merchants to step-up activity to promote potatoes.

Free promotional tools, available on the AHDB Potatoes website, to help them do this include themed artwork, lots of new quick-cook recipes, key nutritional information and a YouTube video of the potato character.

“With four in 10 shoppers making the decision to purchase potatoes at the fixture, it is important that we offer them the guidance and inspiration they are looking for.

“We are therefore urging packers and retailers to include more varietal and nutritional information on-pack as well as recipe imagery and even quick-cook recipe ideas in-store to coincide with our campaign.”

The campaign aims to help address the decline in consumption of fresh potatoes.