€1m campaign to make potatoes more than ‘bit on the side’

They’ve caused us a lot of trouble down the years but the Government is spending a cool €1m to revamp the image of the spud.

Bord Bia will co-ordinate and manage the three-year campaign, which is designed to dispel fattening myths around potatoes and instead point out that they are “naturally fat free, tasty and versatile”.

While once a nation that loved the spud, it seems that love affair has been on the wane for a number of years. According to Kantar Worldpanel, retail sales of fresh potatoes in Ireland have declined by 25% over the last decade and by as much as one third between 2002 and 2014.