Livingston, CA – California sweet potato farmers are on a mission to end consumer confusion, entice younger buyers and increase retail sales of this superfood.
“It’s very likely that many shoppers who come into the store looking for sweetpotatoes are walking away confused and empty-handed when what they see on the shelf is labeled a Yam. Or perhaps it’s the reverse – they’re looking for yams, but the sign says Sweetpotato.” says Sarah Alvernaz, a California sweetpotato grower Band member of the California Sweetpotato Council.
To end this confusion once and for all, the California Sweetpotato Council is launching a new campaign for California retailers that aims to educate consumers and drive sales of sweetpotatoes.
The message to consumers is simple: Yam = Sweetpotato
“Sweetpotatoes come in all kinds of colors – red, orange, white, and, even purple. You may see them labeled as yams in the grocery store, but they’re actually sweetpotatoes,” explains Alvernaz. “True yams are very different from sweetpotatoes and are a starchy, tuberous vegetable mostly grown in Africa. These are not grown and are largely not available in the U.S., despite what you might see on display signs.”
Alvernaz and the California Sweetpotato Council hope to end this confusion, particularly for younger consumers who may not be interested in eating yams but have heard that sweetpotatoes are a superfood.
“We want people to know that sweetpotato is simply a modern, more accurate term than yam,” says Alvernaz.
Freeman explains that signage for sweetpotatoes commonly found in grocery stores does not reflect today’s sweetpotato crop. As with most commodities, sweetpotato growers produce many different varieties. Older sweetpotato variety names like Jewell or Garnet are still commonly used on store signage, but these varieties are no longer produced in California.
“We are encouraging retailers to label sweetpotatoes according to color,” notes Alvernaz. “Most varieties grown in California can be accurately labeled as either red, orange, white or purple sweetpotatoes, rather than using specific variety names. And most definitely none of these varieties are yams.”
“We want people to understand the Thanksgiving yam dish that’s been in their family for generations has always been made with sweetpotatoes and that sweetpotatoes can be used in a variety of recipes not just for the holidays,” said Freeman. “Ultimately we hope to demonstrate that with proper signage and knowledge, consumers will buy more sweetpotatoes!”