Greenvale AP, the UK’s leading supplier of fresh potatoes, is celebrating the one year anniversary of its first branded product, GreenVale Farm Fresh, with sales of over 1.5 million bags. More than half a million shoppers have now bought GreenVale Farm Fresh with brand volume targets being exceeded by over 33 per cent.

GreenVale Farm Fresh Potatoes were launched in 200 Tesco stores in February 2012 and in November were rolled out to a further 400 Tesco stores nationwide as well as Booths stores in the North.

Head of Marketing for Greenvale AP, Leon Mundey, commented: “The GreenVale Farm Fresh brand provides consumers with great tasting potatoes that come in an eye catching paper bag, bringing personality and interest to the fixture. We are delighted with the performance of the brand and the value it is adding to the category. “

The brand uses the ‘Jelly’ potato variety, which is exclusive to Greenvale. It has been carefully selected for its buttery flavour and creamy texture and because it is a great all rounder, perfect for boiling, mashing, roasting and baking. They retain their freshness thanks to the company’s expertise in keeping them at their freshest best from field to shelf and its unique paper bag packaging format.

To support the brand launch Greenvale is running a £1 million marketing campaign which includes a series of tongue in cheek adverts in key foodie and glossy women’s magazines. “Our tasty potatoes last longer in the sack...stop smiling we know what you’re thinking” is just one of the headlines to emphasise both the superior taste of GreenVale Farm Fresh potatoes and the special ‘fresher for longer’ paper packaging.
 

The PR activity includes a comprehensive media relations campaign as well as a series of media competitions in conjunction with Le Creuset highlighting the premium quality of GreenVale Farm Fresh.

Greenvale handles 600,000 tonnes of potatoes every year operating from three state of the art packaging facilities strategically located across the UK. It delivers high quality potatoes day in day out to its customers who include leading retailers Sainsbury’s and Tesco and key food manufacturers Birds Eye, McCain, Young’s and Bakkavör. It is one of the few fully integrated potato businesses in the UK, from breeding and growing potatoes through to packaging, distribution and marketing for the retail, wholesale and food service sectors, with a specialist food ingredients division, Swancote Foods.

Greenvale AP is a significant grower of potatoes in its own right, growing 70,000 tonnes of potatoes through its own growing programme where it employs cutting edge growing techniques. It also boasts the largest and most geographically diverse grower base in the UK.

Source: Greenvale AP