Jun 07, 2022
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM -- In this Platinum Jubilee year, celebrating Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II´s 70 years of service, USA Rice has been growing U.S. rice exports to the UK with a flurry of promotions.
“It’s been a busy first five months for U.S. rice activities in the UK,” said Eszter Somogyi, USA Rice director for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. “The removal last week of the 25 percent ad valorem tariff applied to U.S. milled and broken rice imports to the UK represents a major breakthrough for U.S. rice and U.S. rice importers, and gives us more of a level playing field regarding future exports to the UK.”
Last month, USA Rice launched a media campaign in support of a major local U.S. long grain brand targeting the Chinese ethnic sector. Consisting of digital and sheet billboards placed at 120 roadside locations around the UK, the campaign is expected to reach 4.2 million consumers. A similar campaign, conducted at the same time last year, resulted in a 94 percent increase in sales versus the same period in 2020.
USA Rice teamed up with another major local U.S. long grain brand to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday which occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, which this year took place last Friday. The promotion included a range of large format displays as well as point-of-sale materials installed at key wholesalers in London, Milton Keynes, Manchester, and Liverpool, and is expected to reach 1.1 million consumers.
USA Rice also partnered with a local U.S. medium grain rice importer to share messaging on the sustainability and high-quality aspects of U.S. rice in several media outlets including The Grocer magazine, a weekly trade publication in the UK in existence since 1862.
Meanwhile, the USA Rice UK social media platforms Instagram and Facebook have been revamped using colorful imagery and animation to pique the interest of consumers here who are drawn to the impressive U.S. rice sustainability story.
“These recent promotions definitely got a boost from the news of the tariffs being removed,” said Somogyi. “As the UK adapts to the new trading environment, U.S. rice now has an excellent opportunity to grow market share here, especially with great support from local U.S. rice importers.”