Definición de funcionalidades del sistema

Participants were asked how they thought future Taewa products might be best marketed or developed.

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3.4.5.1. General Marketing of Taewa

When asked about what made Taewa unique, desirable or preferable to other potato cultivars currently on the market, participants’ suggestions often involved highlighting the tuber characteristics of Taewa (their variety of colours, shapes and flavour differences) so as to generate interest or sensory appeal. Other suggestions for marketing Taewa included emphasising the potential health benefits due to coloured pigments of the Taewa tubers; providing opportunities to see Taewa being used; or promoting Taewa alongside their cultural and historical background.

A non-Māori participant asked about and tried Māori potatoes seen at a flea market because: “I thought this is really something different ... It was just something that I didn't know about”…

Upon finding out they were Māori potatoes and being a vegetarian, this participant was keen to experiment with the Taewa. Due to the fact that they were Māori potatoes, the same participant used them in a dish to feed visitors from overseas:

“... I would go for Māori potatoes because it would be like something exotic and

different’.

(Same participant; Group discussions, 2010)

Comments from each of the groups suggested that the differences in Taewa (variety of Taewa tuber shapes, colours -particularly colour difference of Tūtaekuri, and tastes) compared to the modern potato varieties would be a good selling point for a potential Taewa product and therefore there was potential to emphasise Taewa tuber characteristics (variety of shapes, colours, flavours):

“Moemoe ... complemented the presentation because it was different ... was used in salads because it was a different colour ... Both (Taewa) had different, distinctive flavours”.

“Market them to show that they're quite unique and they’re all these amazing colours and shapes and different flavours and just (the) variety. So they (Taewa) definitely have that over some of the plain ones (potatoes) that are on the market. There's a huge variety of patterns on the skins and colours and there's a slight difference with the taste. I find the commercial ones quite bland”.

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“I think there's a lot ... going for them that people would be interested in like the colours, the different shapes”.

“That’s why we have it (Tūtaekuri) because it’s purple and we like bright colours”.

“I think I'd try to use the Tūtaekuri because of the colour”.

“I love the colour (of Tūtaekuri) ... It was absolutely purple ... (I would) add slices (of

Tūtaekuri) to green salad because of colour difference. People are always looking for

something different to serve. They want to have a dish that people say ‘Oh, I want to try that’”.

“I think the visual thing is part of it. Partly about that and partly about the flavour ... I think all of them (Taewa) if you take the time to think about them, have a different

flavour ... The restaurants like them (Tūtaekuri), because visually they look good, so they

slice them like on the side of the plate”.

“I'd buy Māori potatoes if I knew where to buy it. Just because of the taste”.

“Huakaroro and Moemoe have a taste of their own”. (Group Discussions, 2010)

Some of the participants knew about the potential health benefits of eating produce with naturally coloured pigments and suggested emphasising the different colours of the Taewa tubers and their potential health benefits as a marketing tool.

“There’s also the health side, the nutrition. There’s a lot of opportunity in marketing especially some of these ones (Taewa) with the antioxidants, different colours, especially this day and age”.

“If you can get something that’s healthy, a lot of people jump at that, so I think that’s something people would pick up on, the healthy thing”.

“Yeah, jump on the health food track. And because it's true, they have a lot of those antioxidants ... You make them trendy and if you make them gourmet”.

“If I had to choose between a coloured potato and an ordinary potato, I'd go for the coloured one. I think ‘Oh it’s healthy. It's coloured’”.

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Participants also suggested that a cookbook, recipes, instructions or providing opportunities to see how Taewa could be used would encourage people to try Taewa:

“If there was a cookbook out, I think that people would try them”.

“If you have the gourmet, trendy, healthy cookbook and they were available and the information was easily available you could see them becoming the new hot thing”.

“So if it's more familiar and people are in the shops actually baking and cooking them and giving them a chance to try it out. Then they could try it out without buying it and not knowing how to use it best”.

“Then maybe showing different ways of using them and cook them and maybe show them they are just as useful and just as tasty as any other potato”.

“And in the supermarkets ... they have signs like good for roasting or good for boiling or just the basics just like "good for boiling or use that" and that you can get them at the supermarket. That would help”.

“Then they could have it on the wine-bottle aye like this would go good with this potato”. “I think the minute people start using it (Taewa), other people see it like at functions and stuff and they realise that 'oh, that’s different’... People are always looking for something different in dinners and stuff ... Recipes and instructions and how to make it

and lots of photos ... would help in people knowing what to do”.

Some participants felt that promoting the cultural or historical aspect of Taewa would give added interest in the marketing Taewa.

“If there was a salad bar somewhere saying these are Māori potatoes or something like

that then I might be interested in trying something like that”.

“I think there’s also the other aspect like the historical thing like the old style cars it’s got that sort of back ground to it. Just like stories you know like the historical - kept in maara

(family gardens) for how many years. That Māori context adds to it, like if it’s grown on

the Pa (local village), you’d choose that one because it’s got a bit of background to it”.

“I think maybe just marketing it as a Māori potato would make a bit of difference. If they

had Māori potato written on the bag, it would be so much easier and (including) the

name, like Peruperu, that's easy to do and as long as it was in one of those see through

bags so you can actually see the shape”.

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3.4.5.2. Cold or Pre-cooked Cooled Taewa Products

The suggestions from the Group discussion participants indicated the most appropriate Taewa variety for a cold, pre-cooked Taewa product (such as a potato salad), would be a waxy variety (such as Huakaroro) that has good colour attributes, tastes good cold and has a uniform size. Peruperu and Moemoe were suggested as best fitting all these criteria. It was also suggested that newly harvested (sweeter taste), small-sized Taewa (about the size of a squash ball) might be boiled on low heat or steamed then cut in half to make the most of the colour difference and a sweeter taste.

Table 3.5 summarises the suggestions that were given in response to the question of which Taewa varieties (and why those cultivars) might be best suited to a pre-cooked and cooled Taewa product that was served cold or at room temperature.

Table 3.5 Suggestions for Potential Cold, Pre-Cooked Taewa Product.

N = 25 (Participants who were involved in either a group discussion or one-one interview)

Qualities Suggestions / Reasons for Preference

Texture Use a waxy variety that doesn’t fall apart (Huakaroro) Flavour Hangi-flavoured because different to the norm

Smaller Taewa are sweeter

Removing skins may make more acceptable as can have strong taste

Visual Colour difference (Use Tūtaekuri or Moemoe) Use more than one coloured Taewa variety at a time Use Taewa of a uniform size

Varieties Huakaroro (buttery taste)

Peruperu (tastes good cold, uniform size, holds its shape) Moemoe (taste good cold, colour difference, holds its shape) Tūtaekuri (colour difference)

Te Māori (uniform size, colour)

Method of Cooking Boil slowly on low heat

Steam over boiling water or in a hangi

Size Use small Taewa whole (look good in salad, are sweeter)

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3.4.5.3. Other Potential Edible Taewa Products

Other edible Taewa products that were suggested by the participants as having potential for human consumption included potato crisps or hot potato chips (particularly using Taewa with a different tuber flesh to skin colours or with unusual colours such as the purple colour of Tūtaekuri); or using Tūtaekuri flesh to make lavender coloured bread or pasta.

“You could slice them (Wherowhero cultivar) really thinly, and you've got the red skin colour and the yellow flesh and just deep fry them as chips and they'd still look good as they'd have the red around the outside”.

“Even doing them as the other type of chips (hot chips). Like now they do the kūmara

chips and they cost three times as much, so yeah even those purple ones (Tūtaekuri) as

chips ... when you do chips it seals them (Tūtaekuri) anyway so they don’t go fluffy”.

“You can’t go wrong with potato crisps. Yeah when you make it use like orange kūmara

and white potatoes and purple potato and then cook them all together and mix them and they just look cool”.

“She used to slice them (Moemoe or Tūtaekuri) into chips once they were cooked and

cooled down and she would sprinkle them over a salad, lettuce salad with carrots ... and

it would give a nice colour to the salad”.

“I reckon it would be quite interesting to see chips of the purple ones (Tūtaekuri) cos I

know they do them (purple crisps) in other countries, like the Asian countries”.

“So I have purple bread or purple pasta just because I find that entertaining. They don't taste any different. It just tastes like normal bread and normal pasta ... When I have

people over for dinner they tend to eat less of the purple one (Tūtaekuri) because they

say they don't taste as sweet or they're too dry but when you put them into things like bread or pasta, you can’t tell the difference in terms of taste or texture. It's just colour ... (The bread) comes out purple, a lovely lavender bread. It's lovely”.

(Group discussions, 2010)