The Mushroom Bureau has announced funding for a €2.6m three year campaign to promote fresh mushrooms in the UK. The EU has provided 50% of the funding while the other 50% comes from the mushroom industry.
The campaign, supported by the EU and growers and producers from the UK and Ireland will run a fully integrated communications promotion spanning digital, advertising and PR from autumn 2010.
The promotion aims to communicate the nutritional benefits and versatility of mushrooms in cooking to younger households, health professionals and caterers. The campaign aims to address the decline in mushroom sales in the UK with the aim of increasing consumption by 23,800 tonnes over three years.
Stephen Allen of the Mushroom Bureau said: “We are delighted to be launching a €2.6m campaign for which we have received €1.3m funding from the EU, this in conjunction with a further €1.3m contributed by the industry through the Mushroom Bureau allows us to launch a promotion which can successfully raise awareness of the nutritional benefits of mushrooms, highlight 5-a-day and encourage more frequent consumption of mushrooms with a younger age group”.
About Mushroom Bureau
The UK Mushroom Bureau was founded in 1993 and is responsible for the generic publicity of all fresh cultivated mushrooms sold in Britain. The bureau is funded voluntarily by its members who are predominantly mushroom growers and trade alliances to the industry in the UK, Ireland and Continental Europe. Members together supply 65% of mushrooms consumed in the UK.
