The organic sector in the UK is to invest in its first ever
generic marketing campaign to help drive sales of organic products
and promote the "organic brand".
The initiative is being paid for by industry donations, and
contributors in the poultry sector include
Rookery Farm
Eggs,Humphrey Feeds
and Rhug Estate (which
includes poultry in its organic meat range).
It is being supported by the
Organic Trade
Board and Sustain (the
alliance for better food and farming) and aims to raise £250,000 a
year for three years, raised to £500,000 a year after match funding
from the EU organic promotion fund.
Martin Humphrey admitted that it was a small budget but pointed
out there was no other generic promotion out there. "If the money
is used in an innovative way, it is bound to make a
difference."
Other well-known names providing funds are
Green &
Black's,
Rachel's and
Yeo Valley.
Catherine Fookes at Sustain said that the main part of the money
would be spent on advertising.
"The marketing will be generic on "organic" but there will
probably be PR around the different sectors such as poultry. Our
aim is to grow the market for organic by 15% per year."
Recent figures from TNS had shown that the sector had declined
by 13%, and there was a need for one clear voice to help its
positive profile, she said.
"There is lots of confusion around the word organic and what it
means," added Ms Fookes. People wanted clear information about the
benefits of organic food and farming.
"Research shows that people value naturalness but don't link
this with organic, and our communication strategy will not only
build consumer understanding but will also drive the organic sector
as a whole."
