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coming from younger people. “Millennials are the ones that are really pushing more than just the orange- esh, orange-skin varieties,” according to Rene Simon, director of the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission, based in Baton Rouge. “ ey’re pushing these new varieties you’re beginning to see in the market- place.” Similar to the white potato growers’ move toward smaller sizes like ngerlings, Simon predicts consumers can expect to see similar o erings in sweet potatoes, as well.
Long at Nash Produce also sees the trend with Millennials. “Millennials want cheap, convenient, healthy and local. Since sweet potatoes can be stored for up to 18 months, they are not imported. U.S. sweet potatoes are homegrown, so, the guesswork on how the
produce was handled before it reached the shelf is known.”
“Coming out of North Carolina, our main variety is the Covington, the orange- esh variety,”says Scott Farms’ omas.“ at’s still going to be the No. 1 seller among sweet pota- toes, but I do see some of the other varietals, be it the Bonita or Murasaki, being utilized more because they each have a di erent color and avor pro le. ey also have a di erent texture.”
INDUSTRY EFFORTS
In the earlier part of the last century, Americans consumed a lot of sweet potatoes. at number began to drop considerably after World War II. Why did sweet potatoes fall out of favor in the rst place, and to what
does the current health of the industry owe its success? Wooten of Wayne E. Bailey Produce Co. attributes a number of factors for this decline, including lack of innovation, changes in family and work life and the rise of fast food. He thinks the reverse of sweet potato fortunes is due in part to organized industry e orts.
“One of the major things that changed is we came together collectively as an industry.” says Wooten. “ at’s a hard thing to do. Our sweet potato council came together, and you could feel the consumption rise. When people like Dr. Oz and Rachael Ray started talking about it, you began to see it on television every day.” Wooten sees no reason this growth can’t continue as sweet potatoes are enjoyed year-
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