Bord Bia has announced a €1,000,000 investment in beef marketing across key UK and EU markets this autumn to support the sector faced with increasingly difficult trading conditions.
Bord Bia’s autumn promotional activities this year will specifically spotlight Irish quality assured steak in the UK, Germany, Italy and Belgium; with stewing cuts being the hero product in the Netherlands. Additional funding has been allocated to the campaign to deliver a suite of both trade and consumer advertising. Highlights include 110 prominent billboard advertisements across cities in the North-Rhine Westphalia region of Germany; 315 digital billboards near major retail parks in Belgium, and in Italy in addition to 185 billboards, 127 trams and buses across Milan, Rome and Bologna will feature quality assured Irish steak advertisements throughout October and November. In the UK, Bord Bia is promoting Irish steaks with key retail partners, including an organic Irish beef promotion with a leading online retailer.
Announcing the investment at the SIAL Paris trade show for the food sector, Bord Bia Interim CEO Michael Murphy said: “Bord Bia is investing almost one million euro in beef promotions across Europe and the UK this autumn in a concerted effort to meet the rising challenges of the market place and the cost of living crisis, which will impact consumer spending. During the summer, Bord Bia made the decision to enhance its regular autumn promotions in Europe to coincide with the peak in cattle slaughter in Ireland. We are conscious of the challenges faced by farmers and we believe this suite of promotional activities across key European countries and the UK will enhance sales of Irish beef steaks across markets.”
He said the launch of the autumn campaign with key Italian customers will be reinforced by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue’s meetings with the Italian trade in Milan on Tuesday, following the Minister’s participation in the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FA0) World Food Forum 2022 in Rome.
Irish meat and dairy exporters are back in force at the world’s largest food trade fair, SIAL in Paris, the first year the event has taken place since autumn 2018 due to Covid-19. SIAL attracts over 7,000 exhibitors and 300,000 visitors, including key food and drink buyers from over 200 countries.
Minister of State for Research and Development, Farm Safety and New Market Development at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon T.D. and Bord Bia Interim CEO, Michael Murphy are leading the attendance of the 14 Origin Green verified members that will exhibit at SIAL under the banner “Ireland – Origin Green” at two pavilions in the meat and dairy halls, spotlighting their independently verified sustainability credentials.
Ahead of the trade fair, Minister Heydon said: “Flagship events such as SIAL are fundamental to the Irish food and drink industry’s drive to reconnect in-person with key customers and to partner with them to build sustainable value chains to meet the ambitions of Food Vision 2030, Ireland’s strategy for the agri-food sector. Structured engagements such as SIAL offer a real opportunity to communicate the premium quality of Ireland’s food and drink offering, to the benefit of all those along the value chain, with farming families at the centre of this.”
Bord Bia Interim CEO Michael Murphy noted that trade shows like SIAL are essential for Irish companies looking to expand within Europe and further afield, and to connect with both existing and new customers.
“The biggest challenge faced by companies is negotiating price increases with existing customers in the current inflationary context,” he said. “Security of supply and long term partnerships have never been more important. With Origin Green, Ireland is uniquely positioned to supply sustainably produced food and drink to these international customers who all have ambitious sustainability targets and demands on their Irish suppliers.”
