Colour-coded potatoes launched to woo buyers

Sobeys in Atlantic Canada has introduced a new colour-coded scheme in an attempt to market some Prince Edward Island potatoes.

The idea is to make it easierfor consumers to choose the right spud, depending on what they want on theirplates.

Red is for baking. Blue is for mashing. Yellow is for roasting and green is for boiling.

The new colour-coded plastic bags of potatoes have already made their debut inSobeys' stores in Atlantic Canada.

Potato packerW.P. Griffin Inc., came up with the idea.

Its really targeting the people that are new to potatoes and dont know which type to buy.- John Griffin

Sobeys said Griffin worked with the Culinary Institute of Canada to identify which varieties are best for which uses.

The marketing by usage has really been targeted for the people, you know the younger generation who have never really cooked much so they're not sure which potato to select so its really targeting the people that are new to potatoes and dont know which type to buy, said CEO John Griffin.

The five-pound bags of potatoes are about $1 more per bag.

Sobeys said in the first month, sales are going well.

We've realized that our job as a grocery retailer is to make things as easy as we can for our customers, said West Royalty Sobeys manager Carl Cudmore.

Everybody is busy, everybody has a lot of stress in their lives, but we all like to enjoy a nice meal at home with our family. We're going to take that guesswork out of preparing the meals.

Potato sales in North America have plummeted in recent years as carb-conscious consumers reject the starchy vegetable.

The colour-code program will be used across Canada.