Bord Bia is rolling out a €1m promotional campaign to drive demand for organic produce across Ireland.

Launched by Pippa Hackett, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, the campaign will be the largest ever national promotional drive for Irish organics. The campaign commences on 6 November and runs until 17 December. This will be followed by a second run in spring 2024.

The Minister made the announcement at the Natexpo International Trade show for organic products in Paris. Minister Hackett is attending the show with Bord Bia and a number of Irish organic producers.

Policy measures

Minister Hackett described the €1m campaign as “the latest in a continuing suite of policy measures to support organic farmers and the growth of the organic sector in Ireland”.

Minister Hackett launched the promotion campaign for organic produce on Monday.

“Most recently, I secured funding of €57m for organic farmers under Budget 2024. This is a 54% increase on this year’s Organic Farming Scheme budget and continues the upward trajectory of funding for organic farmers. This year we also established the ‘Growing Organics’ farm monitor programme with Teagasc to support excellence in organic farming and provided Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) supported funding of €1.7m to the Organic Processing Investment Grant Scheme,” she said.

The Minister clarified that the €1m budget for the Bord Bia campaign will be drawn down from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR) allocation of €1.5m secured for the organic sector.

Bord Bia Organic Sector Manager Emmet Doyle said that “over the next three years, we expect to see increased volumes of organically produced Irish food”.

Consumer preferences

“The aim of the campaign is to build consumer preference for Irish organic food and drink in tandem with this growing availability.

“In preparation for the campaign, we undertook six months of consumer research with over 2,500 Irish organic shoppers to learn more about attitudes to organic produce and shopping behaviours.

“Using this insight, we identified two cohorts of shoppers to target. These are the middle ground of organic shoppers: they may buy some organics, but it is not a priority for them all the time or they may actively look for organics but can be dissuaded by price.

“The campaign will address this by educating consumers about Irish organic food and drink, and by encouraging them to increase the frequency and quantity of their Irish organic purchases,” he said.

According to the study, over eight in ten Irish shoppers buy organic food and drink. One in two shoppers claim to buy organic meat and/or dairy on a weekly basis, with eggs and vegetables the largest category for organic shoppers.