N.C. sweet potatoes make the rounds at festivals in Germany

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ International Marketing Section recently partnered with the N.C. SweetPotato Commission to sponsor a food truck introducing N.C. sweet potatoes and sweet potato recipes in Germany.

The food truck traveled across Germany, stopping at festivals in Augsburg, Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Hamburg and Stuttgart. A member of the food truck team reports sweet potato fries were especially popular with consumers. In Stuttgart, the demand was so great, the food truck kept a long line for nearly three hours.

The goal of the program is to introduce sweet potatoes to general consumers abroad in order to increase demand for North Carolina-grown sweet potatoes. Germany is one of several European markets where sweet potatoes have found success overseas. The department’s international marketing staff is also working on outreach in the United Kingdom, France and Scandinavia.

North Carolina is the nation’s leader in sweet potato production, growing more than half of all U.S. sweet potatoes.