A major Italian prosciutto consortium is looking to take advantage of growing consumer interest in Continental meats - and double UK sales of its speciality ham over the next two years.

The Consorzio del Prosciutto di San Daniele - a lesser-known competitor to Parma ham -already sells about one million packs of ham and 10,000 full-size hams a year in the UK.

The consortium is now gearing up for a major promotions and sampling drive in the UK, starting this week with a pop-up prosciutto shop in Covent Garden.

It is also planning samplings in the major mults, food halls and independents over the summer and autumn.

Tesco had already signed up for sampling activity and Sainsbury’s and Waitrose were expected to follow, said consortium head Vladimir Dukcevich.

“The Continental meats category as a whole is showing good growth in the UK, and British consumers are finding it increasingly normal to buy products such as prosciutto,” he said. “I would think we can at least double our sales to the UK in the next two years.”

Growth would come partly from new consumers buying into the category but also from shoppers switching from other speciality hams, such as Parma, Black Forest and Serrano ham, he predicted.

Responding to concerns about the incoming sow stall ban, Dukcevich insisted that supplies of Italian hams to the UK would not be hit.

Italian prosciutto producers were well prepared for the ban as they had long adhered to higher welfare standards, he claimed.

The ban, which comes into effect on 1 January 2013, is expected to lead to a 5% to 10% fall in pork production across the EU, as some member states struggle with compliance and producers leave the industry.

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