The UK shallot market is benefiting from increased media exposure, with TV and magazines alike championing the vegetable, producers have claimed.
Value sales are up for the first half of 2005 by 23 per cent, compared with the same period last year, and 30 per cent up on 2003.
The shallot industry’s marketing body, UKShallot.com, attributes this success to the vegetable appearing extensively on BBC2’s Saturday Kitchen.
Hello! and Weight Watchers’ magazine have also run features on its versatility.
Paul Cripsey, spokesman for UKShallot.com, said: “We aim to demonstrate to consumers that shallots are not just for putting in winter stews but have lots of other culinary uses. That message seems to be getting across as both value sales and penetration figures continue to rise.”
Major retailers are reported to be supporting the group’s efforts. Plans are underway for more information on packs in store, designed to encourage customers to experiment more widely with the vegetable.
Linked sales to non-produce ingredients will also be launched in stores this autumn, which will be a first for the shallot industry and another positive step to increase awareness.
Looking forward to the Christmas trading period, Rachel Green, Yorkshire TV’s flying cook and champion of the shallot industry has created a range of seasonal recipes using shallots which will appear across consumer media, once again encouraging keen cooks to try new ways with shallots.
Cripsey added: “There clearly is still scope for sustained development of the shallot market and we’re committed to continuing to educate British consumers about our product.”
