Open the pea champagne!

The Yes Peas! campaign have been celebrating the newly-released TNS data showing that frozen peas have bucked the trend over the last year and have shown a magnificent 4% increase in consumption.

While fresh and canned fell 4% and 9% respectively, frozen peas surged ahead by 4% in the same period. Sales have increased 11% for the whole pea industry, of which frozen peas represent the lion’s share, bringing the overall value of the UK market to £216m.

"This really great news," says Tim Mudge, Commercial Manager at PVGA, which coordinates the Yes Peas! campaign on behalf of the frozen pea industry. "We have been focused on getting our key messages across - versatility, nutrition and convenience - and it seems to be paying dividends.

"And we are particularly pleased because the demographic breakdown of the figures shows increase in consumption in the age group 17-34 and also children, whom we have been working hard to target.

"We’ve been running the campaign for six years now, and feel it is really maturing. We’ve just brought out our second recipe book, with another clutch of great recipes from our celebrity chef Rachel Green, called Yes More Peas!, building on the success of the first book, of which more than 170,000 copies have been distributed. The first 50,000 Yes More Peas! will go out with the BBC Good Food magazine in October." The new book was launched at the second Peasenhall Pea Festival in Suffolk two weeks ago, an event which the Yes Peas!

campaign was pleased to sponsor for the second year running.

"We are especially pleased too, that Rachel Green , an integral part of the Yes Peas! campaign, has just been honoured with the CLA Award for Outstanding Contribution to the British Food Industry at the CLA Game Fair at Belvoir Castle last weekend." added Mudge.

Tim Mudge is available for interview.