Apr 30, 2024Spuds in the news: 2023 was a positive year for potatoes
A new analysis of media coverage and social media posts reveals that 2023 was a good year for potatoes to make headlines.
From January to December, there were more than six positive traditional news stories about potatoes for every negative one, according to the analysis, released April 30 by Potatoes USA. For every negative social media post, there were 13.5 positive posts.
Media monitoring was provided by online media monitoring company Meltwater, with social media posts pulled from YouTube and X (formerly known as Twitter). Communications consulting company Hillenby manually aggregated the data and analyzed the tone and reach, categorizing articles by media platform and topic.
Potato cooking/prep was the most common theme in 2023 coverage, according to the analysis, accounting for 38% of traditional coverage of 76% of social media posts. Health, previously the most prominent theme in traditional media coverage, was overtaken in 2023 by both cooking/prep and culture/history.
Further breaking down themes into topics allowed for a more nuanced analysis of positive or negative coverage, according to the report. Among 2023 top topics, popularity/taste accounted for 57% of positive traditional media articles and 64% of positive social media posts, while nutrient profile accounted for 19% of positive articles and 4% of positive social media posts.
Fries and chips accounted for 16% both traditional and social media posts, with mentions positive on average, according to the analysis.
