Three poultry companies sign up to organic marketing campaign

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.”