European Union, growers fund lemon campaign in U.S., other countries

For the first time in history, the European lemon is launching a promotional and information campaign to publicize its virtues in the United States. Under the slogan “Welcome to the Lemon Age”, the mission of this campaign is to give visibility to the values of the European production model, including the certified guarantee of quality, sustainability, food safety and traceability; and identifying the European lemon with the Mediterranean Diet, declared by UNESCO in 2010, as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) of the United States considers the lemon as a food without fat, without saturated fat, very low in sodium, without cholesterol, low in calories and with a high content of Vitamin C that contributes to the normal functioning of the immune system. It is, therefore, a product appreciated in American homes and that Americans frequently add to water, salads, pastries and cocktails. Between 2010 and 2018, the consumption of fresh lemon in the United States has experienced an increase of 31%, going from 438.00 to 635,000 tons.

A lemon influencer

Aimed at young people between the ages of 25 and 45, Welcome to the Lemon Age campaign, which will also take place over the next three years in Canada, Spain, Germany and France, introduces Lemonencer, the first lemon in the world to become an influencer. He connects with the youngest public through Instragram (@thelemonage_us), Facebook (www.facebook.com/WelcometotheLemonAge/) and webpage thelemonage.com.

Versatility in gastronomy

Lemons are a tremendously versatile product in gastronomy. It is part of the Mediterranean Diet, declared by UNESCO in 2010 as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. For this reason, different video recipes for cooking and cocktails will be disseminated through the web and the campaign's social media networks that will show that the European lemon is a multidisciplinary, natural, healthy, fresh product, that all of it can be used when cooking.

Lemons from Europe

Lemon production in Europe, mainly Spain, amounted to 1,557,000 tons on average between 2010 and 2018, according to data from Eurostat, Faostat and Comtrade, thus leading the world ranking. With a turnover of more than 700 million euros per year and more than 20,000 direct jobs, the lemon sector has 40,000 hectares dedicated to production, housing more than 9 million lemon trees that are located mainly in the Mediterranean basin and that contribute, in addition, to environmental sustainability, with a positive net balance of 304,840 tons of CO2 sequestered per year.

Welcome to the Lemon Age, coordinated by AILIMPO (Lemon and Grapefruit Interprofessional Association) and co-funded by the European Union, has a budget of 6.5 million euros for the next three years (2020-2022): 5.23 million will address the programs in France, Spain and Germany; and another 1.27 to shares in the United States and Canada.