Forget fashion and celebrity culture (42%), sports (65%) and the soaps (44%); recent REDC research* carried out on behalf of Bord Bia shows that 78% of those surveyed are interested in the subject of cooking, food and drink when it comes to their media consumption.
While TV programmes like Home Chef with Neven Maguire (25%) and Kitchen Hero with Donal Skehan (20%) offer inspiration to the masses, an increasing number of people (48%) are looking to foodie websites, apps and blogs for recipe inspiration, such as Bordbia.ie (17%), RTE.ie (34%), Food Network (19%) and Jamie’s Food Tube (37%).
Speaking at the launch of the Lamb. Tasty Easy Fun campaign, Chef Stuart O’Keeffe said: “Lamb is such a wonderfully versatile and tasty meat, and a personal favourite of mine. The newly developed recipes really showcase the different cuts available and the cooking styles that can be used to bring out the great flavour in the meat. What’s more, lamb is perfect for the summer season as it can be barbecued or grilled and enjoyed al fresco.”
The pan-European campaign will highlight the versatility of European lamb as a quality every day meat. It will also underline the significance of a grass based diet and the high welfare and sustainable credentials of the European Sheep sector and the important contribution it makes to rural economy and local community. New and exciting lamb recipes plus some helpful cooking hints and tips are available on www.tastyeasylamb.ie for consumers to try at home.
Delving into the meaty stats**, Bord Bia found that 84% like to challenge themselves by trying out new recipes, whilst 9% of those surveyed attempt to impress their partner with new culinary experiments. Social media is popular for many respondents when looking for inspiration, with 70% following well-known foodies on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. It also appears that the Irish love to share photos of their food; whether its meals they have created themselves at home or delicious dishes when dining out, 29% claim to have shared photos of what they have eaten on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Teresa Brophy, Consumer and Trade Marketing Manager at Bord Bia also stated, “Currently over 80% of lamb sales*** can be attributed to consumers aged 45 years and older. Throughout this campaign we want to encourage younger consumers to consider lamb as an everyday meal option, and provide them with practical information on how to cook lamb and showcase the range of recipes available on www.tastyeasylamb.ie for them to try out.”
This research coincides with the launch of the Lamb. Tasty Easy Fun campaign with LA based Chef Stuart O’Keeffe which aims to promote European lamb as a modern, convenient and versatile meat to a young audience across six European nations - Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Germany and Denmark. Three promotional agencies; Bord Bia in Ireland, AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) in the UK, and Interbev in France, will be investing €7.7 million over the 36 month campaign period with 50% of this being funded by the European Union.
To celebrate the launch of the campaign, Chef Stuart O’Keeffe was today on hand to cook up a selection of the recipes showcasing how quick and easy it is to cook with lamb.
About the Campaign
Lamb. Tasty Easy Fun will run for 36 months, specifically targeting the 25-45 year old audience across the six markets from 2015 to 2017 and will focus on two key periods: summer and autumn. Three promotional agencies; Bord Bia in Ireland, AHDB (Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board) in the UK, and Interbev in France, will be investing €7.7 million over the 36 month campaign period with the remaining 50% being funded by the European Union.
*RedC Research carried out on behalf of Bord Bia in March 2015, with 1008 respondents
** Survey conducted via the Bord Bia Facebook Page in May 2015
*** Kantar Worldpanel Research carried out on behalf of Bord Bia in April 2015