Shoppers and golf enthusiasts in Ireland and Britain are being encouraged to "beef up their golf swing" with a unique Irish meat promotion by Bord Bia, official sponsors of the Ryder Cup. Specially labelled Irish meat packs in both countries will offer shoppers a free introductory golf lesson from one of 500 professional golfers, with Irish shoppers also eligible to win tickets for the Ryder Cup at the K Club this September.
Involving over 4,000 retail outlets and 10 million individual meat packs across both countries, the Bord Bia promotion is designed to increase Irish meat sales and prompt consumers to mix nutritious food with an active lifestyle. Promotional labels detailing the offer will be placed on Irish beef packs in Britain and pork, lamb, beef, chicken and bacon packs in Ireland. An additional quarter of a million leaflets will be distributed through butchers and will lead to an estimated 50,000 golf enthusiasts taking up introductory golf lessons in Ireland and Britain.
Announcing the promotion, Bord Bia Chairman Angela Kennedy said "Bord Bia's sponsorship of the Ryder Cup is a great way of promoting Irish meat sales and encouraging consumers to eat healthily as part of an active life. We expect this promotion to have a strong impact on sales and are delighted to have the participation of so many leading retailers in both markets. This is just the first of the many initiatives that Bord Bia has planned around the Ryder Cup which promises great results."
Participating retailers in Britain include Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, Somerfield, Co-op and Aldi and in Ireland include Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Superquinn, Super Valu/Centra, Londis, Spar, Lidl and Aldi.
All beef, pork, bacon and chicken involved in the promotion is produced under the Bord Bia Quality Assurance Schemes.
To redeem golf lesson vouchers or enter the draw for tickets to the Ryder Cup (meat packs sold in Ireland only) shoppers peel off promotional label and forward a self-addressed envelope to Bord Bia's agent for a free voucher and directory of golf professionals. Numbers of individuals per lesson may vary pending demand locally.
For further information contact:
Rosaleen O'Shaughnessy,
Corporate Communications,
Bord Bia
Tel: 01 614 2245
Note to the Editor:
Bord Bia is responsible for developing export markets for Irish food, horticulture and drink companies and is a member of the 'Ireland Inc' Ryder Cup sponsorship partnership which includes Failte Ireland, AIB and Waterford Crystal under the banner 'Ireland 2006'. The Irish meat promotion and Bord Bia's sponsorship of the Ryder Cup as a whole is about building business for Irish food, drink and horticulture companies both locally and internationally. Through this sponsorship, Bord Bia will promote its "Ireland the Food Island" brand to the Ryder Cup's worldwide viewing audience in support of Ireland's €7.1 billion food, drink and horticultural exports.