Sweet Potatoes

Challenge

When Americans think of sweet potatoes, it seems their minds instantly go to the holidays. The same old sweet potato pie, candied “yams” or sweet potato casserole you’ve had for years. While delicious, these traditional dishes are packed with sugar and, let’s be honest, a little played out. Despite its nutritional value, consumers still don’t see sweet potatoes as the versatile vegetable that it is.

Insight

We caught a glimpse (and a taste) of a small blogger’s revolutionary idea to slice sweet potatoes and toast them as a bread replacement. Thus came an opportunity for the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission (NCSPC) to help this idea go viral and create a movement around sweet potato toast – new, healthy and delicious. Move over avocado toast.

Idea

Padilla and the NCSPC developed a comprehensive strategy to reach consumers across the web, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. They partnered with popular food website Food52 to create new sweet potato toast topping ideas, and began implementing #SweetPotatoToast week across NCSPC’s social media websites.

Solution

Padilla and the NCSPC developed a comprehensive strategy to reach consumers across the web, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. They partnered with popular food website Food52 to create new sweet potato toast topping ideas, and began implementing #SweetPotatoToast week across NCSPC’s social media websites.

Results

#SweetPotatoToast garnered more than 60,000 impressions in one week, increasing total Instagram posts using #SweetPotatoToast by 2000 percent. NCSPC’s Instagram received a 30 percent increase in followers during the week. There was a significant increase in the use of #SweetPotatoes and/or #SweetPotatoToast, increasing tagged posts on social platforms by 85 percent.