Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board has won the contract to promote EU beef, lamb, dairy and horticulture across Asia, Europe and the US in three campaigns valued at US$15.1mn for the next three years
The funding is comprised of US$10.9mn from the EU and US$4.17mn from Bord Bia and industry funding.
The first campaign, 'European Dairy - the sustainable choice for Asia', will see dairy promoted in Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines while the second campaign, 'Working with Nature - European Beef and Lamb' will be target trade buyers in China, Japan, South Korea and the US.
According to Bord Bia, the value of Irish food and drink exports to Asia has increased by 14% to US$1.5bn since 2016. Tara McCarthy, Bord Bia chief executive, welcomed the funding and said that the board's imprint on the campaign will widen the recognition of Ireland as a secure supplier of safe and sustainably produced beef, lamb and dairy at a time when market diversification in response to the joint impact of Brexit and Covid-19 is strategically important.
"This is the biggest sustained investment we’ve made in dairy, and meat across species in third-country markets, and it’s the first EU funding of its kind for the dairy sector. A key element in securing this funding is how Bord Bia’s new three-year strategy aligns so closely with the EU’s farm to fork strategy, in that it allows us to focus on linking sustainable production with sustainable nutrition and consumption. This campaign affords us the opportunity to deploy each of these to the benefit of Irish and EU producers,” she added.
Bord Bia said that starting in 2022, the three EU campaigns will be rolled out across a total of nine market territories between Asia, Europe and the US, each of which will have a specific target audience, product focus and tailored promotional activities. Targeting importers, retailers, foodservice providers, chefs and media outlets, the campaigns will concentrate on digital media, PR, trade fairs, seminars and inward visits to Ireland.
Bord Bia has already identified the growth potential of Asia for Irish food and drinks exports in Japan with the opening of a Bord Bia office in Tokyo in 2019 to add to its presence in Aisa, with offices in Shanghai and Singapore. The Singapore office is focused on the South and East Asian countries of Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
The business to business (B-2-B) campaign will run for three years (2022-2024) and aims to build awareness and understanding of food safety, quality assurance and sustainability of European grass-fed beef, lamb and dairy.
