Prince de Bretagne’s volumes of organic broccoli are starting to grow, just as the cooperative is about to promote them to the general public. “The weather has been favorable for broccoli production since last week. The timing is perfect, given that we will be running a poster campaign from August 22nd to 28th in the Paris subway, to promote organic products in general, with the broccoli as our ambassador,” explains Marie-Amélie Lacroix, organic product manager at Prince de Bretagne. “We hope that this campaign will have a big impact. Between Parisian consumers and travelers in transit during the last weekend of August, we estimate that we will reach 80 million people.”
In parallel, the cooperative plans to communicate with consumers via social networks with summer recipes based on broccoli, such as “brocamole”, another version of the traditional guacamole.
Favorable weather conditions for the 2023 campaign
In terms of production, the season is looking completely different from last year. “In recent weeks, we have had regular rainfall, which has enabled crops to develop well. Last year, on the contrary, we were behind schedule. As a result, the volumes are now increasing rapidly for a season that will end around mid-November.”
A vegetable particularly suited to the climate of Brittany
Prince de Bretagne expects to harvest 8,000 to 9,000 tons of broccoli in 2023, around 20% of which will be organic. “The producers have planted the same surface areas as last year. Broccoli is a product that holds really well without expanding too much. Thanks to its particularly mild climate, Brittany is the only French region where broccoli is produced in the summer. It is a fragile vegetable that has high water requirements, needs a lot of attention and does not cope well with extreme heat. It is also an interesting crop in terms of carbon footprint because after harvest, broccoli leaves remain in the field, are shredded and therefore contribute to fertilizing the plots and storing carbon in the soil.” The cooperative offers broccoli in bulk, plastic flow packages and frozen packs.
12% of organic surfaces in total
Prince de Bretagne began growing organic vegetables over 25 years ago. Today, the cooperative devotes 12% of its total surface area to organic farming. “This percentage has been stabilizing for the past two or three years, so that producers do not convert back during this delicate period for the organic sector. We are confident about the future and we communicate constantly to find new outlets for our organic vegetables. In order to support the organic sector, Prince de Bretagne is relaying the #BioReflexe communication campaign launched by Agence Bio. “We have also created a TV spot to explain to consumers why organic products are sometimes more expensive than conventional ones, and to remind them of the agricultural practices specific to organic farming. After an initial broadcast in July on French channel TF1, a second wave will be broadcast on France 2 on August 30th and September 2nd.”
For more information:
Prince de Bretagne
marie.amelie.lacroix@princedebretagne.com
www.princedebretagne.com