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Latest push for Discover the Origin

Published:  25 February, 2011

Seminars and tastings around the country for store managers, sommeliers and chefs will form part of a new wave of activity for the Discover the Origin campaign.

Promoting Burgundy wines, port and Douro wines, Parma ham and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, the initiative has been running for two years and in that time has trained over 2,000 specialist wine retailers and delicatessens and sampled to over 70,000 'foodie' consumers.

Plans for 2011 also include the launch of the Discover the Origin Best Display competition, created specifically for wine merchants. A consumer campaign will see the five products sampled at consumer food fairs nationwide, including Taste and the Foodie Festivals. Sampling activity will be supported by a heavyweight media partnership with consumer food magazines BBC Good Food, Olive, Delicious, Easy Living and Good Housekeeping.

The campaign's organisers report that exports of all five products have seen a significant increase over the last year. Burgundy wine exports rose in 2010 by 15.6% in value and 20.7% in volume and sales of port have also risen, with retailer M&S announcing a 30% rise in sales over Christmas when compared to the same period the previous year.

Over the last two years, UK sales of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese have increased by 22.2% and exports of pre-sliced Parma Ham to the UK grew by 31% between 2008 and 2010.

Discover the Origin is part financed by the EU, France, Italy and Portugal. The industry bodies behind the campaign are The Burgundy Wine Board, the Port and Douro Wines Institute, the Parma Ham and Parmigiano Reggiano Consortiums.

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