Significant quantities of potatoes are lost due to aesthetic defects. Researchers at Agroscope have therefore investigated how consumers can be motivated to buy suboptimal-looking potatoes.
Large losses occur along the potato value chain, hereinafter referred to as food waste. A very specific source of food waste are so-called suboptimal products that are either close to or past their best-before date or have visual or sensory deviations from the defined optimum. For Switzerland, it was estimated that only 60% of all potatoes harvested reach consumers or restaurants. In order to investigate whether suboptimal products could still be marketed to consumers, Agroscope conducted an online survey in spring 2024.
The potato experiment
A total of 481 people were interviewed in the online survey in German-speaking Switzerland (51.1% of whom were women). One part of the survey will be specifically discussed here: the potato experiment. The online participants were asked to choose between two potato options. Additionally, they had the opportunity to indicate that they would not choose either potato. The participants were told that they should imagine buying potatoes in one place (farm shop vs. supermarket). They could then choose between two products: an optimal potato A and a suboptimal potato B. They only differed in the aspects of size and appearance. Under the food waste information condition, it was said for potato A that these are commercially available potatoes, and for potato B that these potatoes are usually sorted out, even though they are ideal for cooking and food waste can be avoided by recycling them.
Choosing the suboptimal potato
Using the chi-square test, it was found that the place of sale and the food waste information had an effect on the choice of potatoes. There was a small tendency for participants to choose the optimal potato A more often in the farm shop than in the supermarket (75% vs. 71% in the control group and 59% vs. 54% with food waste information). Since this difference was very small, this would need to be examined more closely in future studies. It is also important to note that there may be a difference between stated preferences and actual behavior. Food waste information meant that participants were more likely to choose the suboptimal potato B (25% vs. 41% in the farm shop and 29% vs. 46% in the supermarket). Participants were asked to justify their choice of potato using free text answers. The choice of the optimal potato A was based primarily on appearance and price. If the suboptimal potato B was chosen, it was mainly because of the reduction in food waste or because of the fact that this potato is still edible.
Conclusion
- Specific food waste information contributed to the suboptimal potatoes being chosen more often.
- Participants specifically stated that they chose the suboptimal potatoes to reduce food waste.
- Price (no difference from the suboptimal potatoes) and appearance were listed as reasons to choose the optimal potatoes.
Literature reference
A food waste information-framing can help promote purchase of suboptimal potatoes.
