The latest Guaranteed Irish campaign is winning support from consumers who want to trace products back to indigenous producers, writes Claire Shoesmith

Julie Byrne likes the idea of knowing that the product she is buying is Irish. "Not only is it better for the environment as it hasn't travelled hundreds of miles to get here, but I feel as if I am also supporting Irish jobs and Irish industry by buying it," says the 32-year-old accountant, who admits to going out of her way to buy food products marked as being made in Ireland.

Byrne likes the "home-grown feeling" of buying Irish-made products and it seems that she isn't alone in her thinking. A recent survey carried out on behalf of Glanbia Consumer Foods found that 58 per cent of shoppers are prepared to pay a premium for Irish-made products, with eight out of 10 preferring branded products to a supermarket's own label items.

Such findings will please Tom Rea, a director of Guaranteed Irish, the not-for-profit body that promotes the sale of Irish goods and which has recently launched a new campaign aimed at encouraging people to adopt this philosophy.

The "buy Irish" initiative was originally launched in 1975 by the Irish Goods Council. It was removed from government control in 1984 following a ruling by the European Court that individual countries were not allowed to promote their own products as being better than those produced elsewhere within the European Union.

As a result, Guaranteed Irish became a not-for-profit group and has continued in its aim of raising awareness and demand for Irish products and services under its own steam and financing.

According to Rea, people's reasons for "buying Irish" have changed and, as a result, so has the job of the initiative. "Back in the 1970s, the Irish economy was very different," he says. "Manufacturing was in its infancy, jobs were a huge issue and there was a feeling that if people didn't buy Irish, there would be no jobs for their children."

In those days, he says, people bought products produced in Ireland, even if they weren't necessarily the best.

Nowadays, the situation is very different. Consumers are no longer spurred to buy Irish for fear of jobs disappearing, but other issues have emerged instead. "People today have different concerns, such as wanting to know exactly where their food has come from and the distance it has travelled to get to them," says Rea.

Recent health scares, such as BSE and bird flu, have further raised the issue of product traceability and left consumers anxious to know where their food is coming from.

In fact, the survey carried out by Glanbia found that 83 per cent of consumers questioned preferred to buy brands with Irish traceability labels, implying that any product with the Guaranteed Irish label is likely to attract increased attention from consumers who feel more comfortable trusting Irish producers.

According to Rea, the Guaranteed Irish symbol is one of the most recognised logos in Ireland, with 90 per cent of those questioned in one survey recognising the symbol with the name.

The same study found that 59 per cent of those questioned would "definitely choose" a product with the Guaranteed Irish symbol assuming no difference in price or quality, while a further 25 per cent would "probably choose" a Guaranteed Irish product.

Tara Delaney, director of external affairs at drug giant Pfizer, believes that having the Guaranteed Irish logo on a product symbolises a certain level of quality. The multinational, which produces many of its prescription medicines in Ireland, uses the Guaranteed Irish symbol on its best-selling cholesterol drug, Lipitor.

"For our customers it symbolises a good product with a high level of quality and environmental awareness," says Delaney, adding that for a multinational like Pfizer, displaying such a label is also about thinking globally but acting locally. "Pfizer has very strong associations with Ireland and with the symbol, we are making ourselves part of the cultural landscape here."

Pfizer isn't the only multinational to use the logo. Rival pharmaceutical group Wyeth, which has several plants in Ireland, uses the symbol on its baby milk, SMA, while Dulux, the paint company, also uses it to differentiate its Irish-made products from those that are imported.

For a multinational with significant operations in Ireland, carrying the Guaranteed Irish symbol can also demonstrate a commitment to the State in which they are operating, said one observer. "What it does is show that they want to be here and are proud to be here," he says, adding that if it helps to boost sales along the way, then this is a bonus.

Whether it does actually boost sales is something that is difficult to quantify. George Hogan, general manager at Finglas-based popcorn maker Manhattan, believes that carrying the Guaranteed Irish symbol can help increase sales.

"All things being equal - price and quality - if you display the symbol, people will choose your product over others," he says. "In our case, we are an Irish company with an American name and it is particularly important that we tell people that we are Irish."

Rea agrees: "There is no doubt the product has to be of good value and good quality to outsell a rival product, but research has shown that in cases where the quality and price is the same, Irishness wins," he says, pointing out that we have no problem being passionate about our sports' teams, so why not our own food products.

"We as a country are extremely proud of our achievements in the areas of sport and music, and I think it's time that people really revisited the idea of supporting Irish products," Rea says.

"Brand awareness has never been more prevalent than it is in today's society and this is something we have to take advantage of."