30 August 2024

Enhancing the Geographical Indications (GI) system - GI-SMART kicks off

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Sustainability

A project which seeks to enhance the design and implementation of the Geographical Indications (GIs) system to support sustainable agriculture, healthy food, and food systems has officially kicked off.

GI-SMART is part of the National Innovation Centre of Rural Enterprise’s (NICRE) portfolio of projects and aligned with its aim of improving prosperity in rural areas through increasing the added value of agri-food products.

Matthew Gorton and Barbara Tocco are members of GI-SMART’s Newcastle team which will lead work on consumer marketing. They will work extensively with food producers and policy makers in the UK and EU to improve the marketing of GIs. The UK team also includes Cezara Nicoara from Newcastle University Business School (NUBS) as well as Roberta Discetti, from Bournemouth University and Artyom Golossenko from Cardiff University.

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Improving consumers’ understanding of GIs

Matthew, Deputy Director of NICRE and Professor of Marketing at NUBS, said: “As we strive to produce food more sustainably, the GI-SMART project is timely and interesting. The research can help improve consumers’ understanding of GIs and their promotion so that they are aligned with healthy and sustainable diets. I am looking forward to engaging with partners, food producers and policy makers on this project over the next four years.”

The GI-SMART consortium is made up of 17 public and private partners from eight European Member States (France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Spain), as well as UK and Switzerland. It will be coordinated by INRAE – National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (France). The project is funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, with the Newcastle-led team funded by Innovate UK’s Horizon Europe Guarantee Extension.

To find out more see here.

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