BORD BIA ezine / 03
EARLY SALAD VEGETABLES - BEST IN SEASON Building on the success of the 2020 Best in Season Campaign, Bord Bia’s fresh produce promotions are leveraging the growing demand for fruit and vegetables by driving consumer preference of Irish fresh produce in order to deliver growth for the domestic horticultural sector. The campaign aims to inform and inspire shoppers to consume fresh produce by demonstrating its seasonality, freshness, quality, and health benefits; along with clearly signposting when local fresh produce is in season. The first stage of the campaign is focused on early salad vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuces) which are grown under glass house protection which requires highly-skilled care and attention. The months of April and May marked the beginning of the Irish harvesting season, and Bord Bia has been urging consumers to look for locally-grown fresh produce for freshness and high-quality throughout the summer season. The second stage of the campaign highlights seasonal Irish fruit and vegetables, while celebrating the UN International Year of Fruit and Vegetables. It encourages consumers to simply ‘add one more’ vegetable or fruit to meals throughout the day and supports local communities and the horticultural industry. Through a mix of media relations, and digital communications activity, Bord Bia is promoting the benefits of seasonal produce and a number of local growers and campaign spokespersons across national, regional and online media outlets to raise awareness of the availability of locally grown fruit and vegetables. ✽
SUSTAINABLE EUROPEAN MUSHROOMS After successfully completing the three year Mushrooms Complement Everything campaign in January, a fresh application to carry out another three years of mushroom EU co-sponsored promotion was made in May. If successful, the three year ‘Mix it up with sustainable mushrooms from Europe’ will have a €1,000,000 budget annually for 2022 to 2024 to promote mushrooms in the UK. It is an information and advertising campaign targeting consumers in the UK. Sustainability is an important issue for consumers, and the campaign will highlight the sustainable credentials of Irish and European mushrooms. They will help to further establish EU products as world leaders in sustainable food production, quality and traceability. Analysis of UK consumers shows that women 25-45 are the most important sector to target because their mushroom consumption is lower than older age groups and they also have a high interest in sustainability. The overall objective is to increase the cumulative sales of mushrooms in the UK by 14,200 tonnes over the three years of the campaign. The campaign sets specific targets for increases in penetration and frequency of purchase in the target age group. The activities selected to achieve this increase are digital advertising, public relations and social media, and website and search engine optimisation. The outcome of the application will be made known in October. ✽
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HORTICULTURECONNECTED / www.horticultureconnected.ie / Summer 2021
CELEBRATE STRAWBERRY SEASON The ‘Celebrate Strawberry Season’ campaign is an ongoing initiative, organised by Bord Bia in partnership with the Irish Soft Fruit Growers Association and the IFA, which aims to encourage the public to enjoy and purchase and enjoy strawberries during the long Irish growing season from May to November. The campaign provides inspiration on how to incorporate strawberries into daily eating habits as a naturally sweet and healthy fruit. Bord Bia research undertaken in July 2020 found strong data to support the health and lifestyle benefits of strawberries and aims to educate consumers through a digitally focussed campaign and supporting media relations activity. ✽
