Improving quality of sweetpotato across the industry supply chain (PW20000)

This project improved the quality of sweetpotatoes across the industry by engaging key stakeholders, including growers and retailers, to establish long-term quality monitoring and maintenance practices.  

Focusing on both pre- and post-harvest challenges, the project enhanced the quality of Australian sweetpotatoes through collaboration across the supply chain. A key outcome from the project was the comprehensive Quality Improvement Plan, which offers actionable insights and resources that help consistently improve product quality, leading to higher consumer satisfaction and increased sweet potato consumption. 

Challenge  

Previous research, PW18003, revealed that 63 per cent of consumers prioritise quality when purchasing sweet potatoes. Key quality concerns included sweetness, fibrousness, appearance, firmness and colour. This feedback pointed to a significant opportunity to improve sweet potato quality, which could in turn boost consumer satisfaction and drive consumption.  

Response  

To address these challenges, the project focused on improving the quality of Australian sweetpotatoes by tackling issues both before and after harvest and developing a business case for supply chain-wide enhancements. Key activities included:  

• Conducting in-depth quality reviews on Queensland farms and in Victorian retail environments.
• Partnering with major retailers like ALDI, Coles, and Woolworths to gain access to quality control data and customer feedback, giving growers valuable insights into consumer expectations.
• Securing grower support by clearly communicating the project’s goals and benefits, ensuring that growers understand how these efforts will directly benefit them.
• Implementing a push-pull strategy where growers were encouraged to enhance quality while retailers supported these improvements, creating a unified industry approach.
• Leveraging insights from related projects, such as the Vegetable Cluster Consumer Insights Program (MT17017) and Horticulture Consumer Sensory Profiling (HN20001), to identify and prioritise opportunities for quality improvement.
• Establishing a reference group for ongoing feedback and holding seasonal meetings with retailers to ensure the continuous implementation of the Quality Improvement Plan. 

Benefit  

The project identified key factors influencing sweetpotato quality, such as the importance of managing skinning and the relatively lower impact of temperature, particularly chilling. Seasonal fluctuations in quality, like bronzing during oversupply periods when potatoes remain in the ground longer, were also documented, providing growers and retailers with a better understanding of these challenges.  

The Sweetpotato Quality Improvement Plan and Sweetpotato Roadmap was developed using data from retailer distribution centres (DC), in-store monitoring, and temperature tracking (from grower to DC). These resources provided the industry with actionable insights to prioritise and address significant quality issues, supported by a quantified business case for widespread adoption.  

To facilitate industry-wide adoption, a bespoke data portal was created, offering real-time quality data and regular reports to stakeholders, including growers, packers, and marketing groups. The project also promoted best practices through direct engagement with supply chain stakeholders, newsletters, grower roadshows, flyers, and resources shared on the Australian Sweetpotato Growers (ASPG) website. These efforts have empowered the industry to consistently deliver high-quality sweet potatoes, driving increased sales and consumption. 

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Explore resources on the ASPG website