Since 2005, the North Carolina sweetpotato industry has been actively supporting European trade with marketing and communication activities. An unprecedented success story!

In these 15 years, the export volume increased by well over 600%. Thanks to the massive improvement in the availability of goods, sweetpotatoes can now be bought all year round in almost every supermarket and discount store.

The supply meets the steadily growing demand for sweetpotatoes which has been building for years. In fact, U.S. sweetpotatoes have succeeded in advancing from a niche product to an absolute trend vegetable in Europe. Awareness and consumption of the orange tuber have increased to such an extent that it has become indispensable to consumers, restaurateurs, retailers, and food manufacturers.

Numerous marketing campaigns implemented over the past decade and a half in various EU countries have positively positioned North Carolina sweetpotatoes as the “orange superfood”.

For example, the annual International Sweet Potato Week has become an established and successful POS campaign. The promotion week, which takes place in different EU countries every spring, leads to increased sales of up to 200% during the promotion period.

In addition, activities such as press relations, cooperation with influencers, social media campaigns, discussions with experts from the health industry and retailers at trade fairs and conventions, as well as targeted consumer campaigns such as presence at street food festivals have contributed to this unique success model for 15 years now.

And there is still no end in sight! The North Carolina sweetpotato industry will continue to build on this success in the coming years.