I was most impressed with Sopexa’s choice of venue - Sandown Races - for the launch of the Val de Loire lamb’s lettuce season last week, not least because I managed to back a couple of winners.

Less than 10 years ago, a foray into the London market by the crop synonymous with Nantes led to a unique situation.

At that time, wholesalers were literally offered the produce free of charge as a means of getting it recognised. As I spread the message now, I still wonder if there were any takers.

The situation now is as different from how it was then as the winning and losing fillies were from each other last Friday. And that is largely thanks to the help of France’s very effective eyes and ears on the UK market - Sopexa.

Growers are more than prepared to admit that French lamb’s lettuce has received an enormous boost through the growth of prepared bagged salads. And it is now a constituent part of a product range that is still increasing sales at some 20 per cent a year. This performance is even bettered by sales of lamb’s lettuce on its own which have jumped in the UK by 40 per cent in the last two years to 1,300 tonnes and now account for 12 per cent of exports of total French exports of the product.

If you feel you might have missed the bandwagon, never fear; it is not too late - there are 250 producers growing 30,000 tonnes who would be delighted to meet you.

Bearing this comforting fact in mind, along with the reality that sales to the still-expanding pre-packed sector account for about 90 per cent of volume, this season’s campaign is now mainly targeting foodservice.

High on the agenda are gastropubs, as the campaign aims to give the product a clearer identity as a winter salad. The lion’s share of the £70,000 budget, up by £20,000 from last year, will be spent in this sub-sector alone.

Most significantly I feel is that the move is backed by a modernised industry that has changed beyond recognition since I was a regular visitor across the Channel. The crop may still be grown on the sandy soils of the Loire, but mechanical harvesting and polythene tunnels are now commonplace and yields have reached four tonnes a hectare.

This acreage is supported by substantial packhouses that both wash the crop for the fresh prepared sector and bunch it for sale unwashed.

The future looks promising and I only have limited concerns. Foodservice wants prepared, rather than loose, product, which means that new sales will probably come from already established trade, rather than the opening up of new avenues.

And while the wholesale markets are being given some attention, whether a touring Eliza Dolittle look-alike - as planned by the campaign-organisers - will really do the trick remains to be seen.

Not withstanding, our own English salad-growers I suspect, will still be green with envy that the French have the courage - just like at Sandown - to place their bets.