Dutch cook up tasty Irish treat

Bord Bia Amsterdam is driving Irish beef sales in the Netherlands by exploiting the Dutch appetite for stews during the harsh winter months and is encouraging them to explore 'Ierse stoofpotjes' (Irish Stew) with recipes and cooking tips on a unique website - irishbeef.nl - as well as with digital and in-store promotions.

The Dutch market provides a solid consumer base for 80% of Ireland`s forequarter beef exports, in addition to being our fourth largest beef market overall. Exports to the Netherlands for the first six months of 2016 amounted to over 27,000 tonnes valued in excess of €120 million, a 5% rise in volume compared to the same period in 2015. Over 65% of this product is made up of forequarters and visual lean meat.

Irish beef is sold as a premium product in the major retail outlets and the environmentally aware Dutch consumer recognises the efforts of the Irish producers and processors in meeting the animal welfare and sustainability targets of our Beef Quality Assurance Scheme and Origin Green programme.

The current consumer campaign “Irish Stew – worth the wait!” launched recently with radio, print and digital advertising on food and lifestyle sites, to be followed by further advertising in December including in-store brochures of Dutch supermarket groups.

An on-pack promotion is currently underway, and a social media competition will run next week for followers of Irish Beef in the Netherlands. The prize is a Chef Masterclass organised by Bord Bia where a top chef will show how to prepare various stews with Irish beef and a butcher will advise on how to buy the right Irish beef cuts in the supermarket.

The Irishbeef.nl site provides instruction videos on how to prepare Irish beef in a stew. Visitors to the site are also shown how the cattle are reared and cookery tips from well -respected chefs.