Bord Bia has launched the first consumer promotion of Irish beef in the US, which will see consumers there given the chance of winning a trip to Ireland when they buy Irish beef.
The initiative was launched on February 24, with the on-pack promotion taking place in 17 branches of the Roche Bros. supermarket chain, which is based in the state of Massachusetts, where the city of Boston is located, home to a large population of Irish-Americans.
The promotion will run until March 16, the day before St. Patrick’s Day. Roche Bros. stocks Kepak’s Celtic Beef brand.
Since the US market opened for Irish beef in 2015, Bord Bia has been steadily building relationships between Irish beef suppliers and key trade customers in the US.
“We are now leveraging these trade relationships to launch the first Irish beef promotion directed at US consumers. The purpose of the campaign is to increase sales of Irish beef across Roche Bros. supermarkets and create customer loyalty to Irish beef that will surpass the three week duration of the campaign,” said Henry Horkan, Bord Bia’s manager for North America.
He added: “The promotion will also raise awareness of the premium nature of Irish beef, sourced from quality-assured farms, and fully traceable from farm to fork.
In the longer term, this activity provides Bord Bia with an excellent platform to further grow the opportunity for Irish beef in the US retail channel, emphasising its marketability and strong consumer acceptance.
In January 2015, Ireland became the first EU member state to be granted beef market access to the US in over 15 years. Irish beef remains the only beef from Europe available for sale in US retailers.
The Roche Bros. has been stocking Irish beef since 2017.
Bord Bia says that, since opening its New York office in 2008, it has worked on “continually strengthening business relationships”.
“Irish beef is in a prime position to meet the needs of American consumers, and this campaign only strengthens Ireland’s competitive position as a global meat supplier,” Bord Bia said in a statement.