One of the nation’s favourite staples – the potato – will be given a new look in supermarkets from next month.

To help consumers make the right choice, potatoes will be labelled as Fluffy, Salad or Smooth as a new promotional strategy was revealed to growers at Tuddenham, near Barton Mills.

Sharon Hall, who heads the Potato Council’s marketing said: “It will better enable the consumer to understand better the differences between potato varieties. We want to inspire consumers to use potatoes in their meals.

“Research shows that consumers typically view potatoes as either small, medium or large. This classification helps them to better recognise the differences between different varieties of potatoes,” she added. “The aim was to help shoppers rediscover potatoes. We’re spearheading a new classification scheme for potatoes which is going to be launched in Potato Week – from October 1 to 7,” she told growers at the East Anglian potato event at Frederick Hiam’s farm at Tuddenham.

“This new potato classification system has the potential to sustain demand in potatoes and excite consumers,” she added.

The latest advertising campaign aimed to reach 10 million consumers with the support of funding from European Union as part of the “many faces of potatoes” promotion, which included the Potato Council as a partner.

“The new scheme helps to identify the best variety for their needs and in the long-term we hope that it will build some loyalty for our commodity and to encourage shoppers to trade up to a more premium brand.”

“The plan will involve the launch and labelling of potatoes as Fluffy – for roast or chips; Salad, try them boiled, steamed or roasted; and finally Smooth, for either mash or as wedges.”

“We really do believe that this is a research-driven solution and changing how potatoes look at the point of sale in supermarkets is going to make a difference to our industry.

Ms Hall added: “The long-term vision would be to enable consumers to have the level of understanding they have about wine. If you recall back into the 1970s, consumers just recognised one or two names but now we have aisles of wine and consumers know which grape they like and understand far more about wine. That is going to take a long time but that’s the long-term vision.

“We’re going to continue to work with the retailers to encourage adoption of the new classification system in stores and also showing the consumer how to use best use different varieties of potatoes in their cooking.