Sales of Irish beef soar in Italy
Following an exceptional 95% increase in export figures for the first half of the year, Irish beef sales to Italy are expected to reach 35,000 tonnes in 2003 from 20,000 tonnes in 2002.
Peter McSweeney, manager of Bord Bia Milan, said the new advertising campaign is designed to capitalise on the positive response to Irish beef from Italian consumers in research earlier this year.
“The research results clearly demonstrated that Irish beef had the right appearance and was the preferred choice based on taste,” he said.
Mr McSweeney said the beef had to look right on the counter, had to come from a secure source, animals had to be raised and fed in the right way and there had to be a proper control system in place.
“When asked to rate beef for these factors, the results for Irish beef were very positive. Of those consumers who had previously tried Irish beef, 83% said that they would repurchase.”
