A Smart Solution That Isn’t Small Potatoes
Smart Solutions That Inspire
What if we told you there was an 18th century European Head of State who had a smart solution for marketing the potato? Yes, the potato! Hard to believe that today’s favorite vegetable once needed help selling itself, but the citizens of Prussia in the 1700s were not fans — that is, until a smart solution from Frederick the Great, the King of Prussia and possibly the world’s first guerrilla marketer, came along.
The potato was first cultivated in South America and brought to Europe by explorers in the 16th century. However, pommes frites stands didn’t exactly open up overnight. The potato did not readily hold any appeal for the European populace. Instead it offered a long list of drawbacks: it could not be stored for long periods of time like grains; it was dirty; and, best of all, it was easily confused for a well-known poisonous plant! But Frederick didn’t care — he was determined to make the spud sprout in Prussia. Why? Well, for starters, potatoes were easy to grow, could be farmed by any man, woman, or child in the land, and had health and economic benefits that would bring Prussians another carbohydrate-rich crop which would hedge against famine and also stabilize the price of wheat and other grains.
So Frederick did what any great King would do — he made the adoption and cultivation of the potato compulsory! Prussian citizens, however, were none too keen on the royal decree. In fact, the town of Kolberg sent a dissident message to their king writing, “The things have neither smell nor taste, not even the dogs will eat them, so what use are they to us?” Despite being King, Frederick surprisingly found he could not force the potato onto his subjects. Frederick still didn’t relent, and instead developed a great smart solution that turned the potato from a forced failure into the must-have food for the Prussian masses.
So what did Frederick do that was so smart, you ask? Simple — he took back the potato! He reversed his decree and instead made the potato a Royal Vegetable, exclusively for the consumption of the royal family and their guests. He then had them planted in a special garden heavily protected by the Royal Guards. Word soon spread about the royal potato garden and its special contents, leaving a nation full of people desperate to have back what was once theirs. If the peasantry of Prussia knew one thing, it was if something is worth guarding, then it must be worth stealing, and so the thieves plotted to steal the potato back. What the Prussian populace was not aware of was that the royal garden that was supposed to be protected by all of the Royal Guards may not have been truly guarded at all. In fact, Frederick had given the soldiers secret directions not to guard the garden too well, and to look the other way as thievery ran amuck in the royal garden. “Stolen” potatoes were soon planted throughout the country, and the potato quickly became a staple of the Prussian diet. Soon, whether boiled in Ireland or fried in France, all of Europe was eating their fill of potatoes!
Frederick’s smart solution ignited the adoption of the potato throughout Europe. Think that’s small potatoes? Think again. The adoption of the potato has been credited as being responsible for a quarter of Europe’s growth between the 18th and 20th centuries.
In the end, what inspires us about Frederick was that he saw a great potential in the potato for his people and, despite challenges along the way, developed a really smart solution that was not for him, but for them. No wonder they called him Frederick the Great!
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