This year’s national PR asparagus campaign will target men aged between 25 and 40 years old in an attempt to get a whole new section of the UK population eating the spears.
Supported by the British Asparagus Growers’ Association, the campaign has a budget of £35,000 and the help of fresh produce companies Kitchen Garden Produce, Barfoots, Flamingo, Mack, Exotic Farm Produce, Wealmoor and Utopia to promote the UK asparagus season.
The campaign website, www.british-asparagus.co.uk, has been redesigned to attract the new target audience and now offers fun recipes and a new master class cookery video entitled ‘Impress her in 10 minutes or less’.
“This year we have decided to specifically focus on young men aged between 25 and 40 in order to drive sales within a consumer sector that we have not specifically targeted before,” said campaign spokesman James Hallett of Mack. “The ‘Jamie Oliver effect’ cannot be denied, and this sector of the population is currently the fastest growing in terms of cooking at home.
“Due to the success of past campaigns, UK growers have significantly increased asparagus planting and, despite the bad weather of 2007, we are confident that 2008 will yield a good crop.”
The annual British Asparagus Festival will be held in Evesham from May 24 to 26. The three-day event will include an asparagus auction on May 24 and a ‘Festival Day’ on May 26, with cookery demonstrations by chef Rachel Green, a craft fair, farmers market, silver band and tutored asparagus tasting.
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