TODAY is International Day of the Potato, and as the long-standing publisher of British Potato Review, organiser of the British Potato Industry Awards, and owner of the British Potato Industry Show, we thought we’d use the opportunity to look back on some of our own history, while raising the profile of that most resourceful of vegetables!
British Potato Review first came into being in 1991, when it was founded by Bob Meredith. Bob, who was awarded the 2002 British Potato Industry Award for his own contribution to the UK potato industry, worked in the potato industry for 31 years and was the former Deputy Head of Research and Development at the Potato Marketing Board (PMB).
He introduced an early assurance scheme that identified high quality potatoes and produced premiums for the supply chain by assuring consumers they were purchasing top quality UK produce. He also produced Potato World, an in-house publication sent free to all then-levy payers, before leaving the board in 1990 and setting up his own small agronomist’s journal then known as Potato Review.
Having been purchased by Bourne-based Warners Group Publications in 2016, the publication has grown in size and readership, now serving the whole of the British potato supply chain, as well as bringing international market reports to its readers.
The group launched the British Potato Industry Awards in 2019, which have this year received a makeover to bring them in line with modern-day collaborations and ongoing work within the industry, and take place in November every two years.
The awards are staged on the first night of the British Potato Industry Show, which is also a well-known and loved event for all those in the British potato industry, and was purchased by Warners Group in 2023.
A weekly newsletter was also launched around five years ago, which has amassed a separate following and hits more than 1,200 inboxes every Friday.
Being such central players in the British potato industry, it never ceases to amaze the British Potato team just how extensive the potato industry is, and how many lives it touches.
BPR Editor Stephanie Cornwall, who played a major role in relaunching the magazine in 2018 and helped get the awards off the ground, said: “Those who aren’t in the industry often struggle to get their head around the fact that there’s a British Potato Industry magazine – they seem to think we just look at a potato all day and our show is a bit like a village green competition with lots of allotment holders displaying what they grew that year.
“I take great delight in showing them the articles we run highlighting the amount of hard work that goes into different elements of potato production. They’re generally amazed when I point out the efforts put into breeding and genetics, soil protection and preparation, field applications, sorting/grading, processing and different end markets, not to mention the continual advancements in technology and machinery.
“And that’s by no means all of it! Potato has a huge role to play in fighting world hunger and has so many different uses – from fresh food to processed meals, packaging and even as an ingredient in alternative meat and dairy products. Every day’s a learning day, even in the British Potato office, and we’re keen to help to highlight that on International Day of the Potato.
“We were delighted when the UN General Assembly introduced this as a formal event last year – long may it continue!”
