Industry set for another week of celebrating lamb
Trade bodies from England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland are preparing for the launch of ‘Love Lamb Week’ which aims to promote the sustainability of lamb.
Now in its sixth year, ‘Love Lamb Week’ has grown to become an industry-wide initiative with support from Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), AHDB, Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC), the National Sheep Association (NSA), the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), LMC in Northern Ireland, Ulster Farmers’ Union and Red Tractor.
The week-long event will focus on highlighting the fantastic quality, taste and nutritional benefits of lamb, plus its role in sustainable meat production. The campaign will also introduce the second phase of the joint QMS, HCC and AHDB ‘Make it Lamb’ campaign, which will run until 26th October.
During Love Lamb Week, Scotch Lamb PGI will be promoted through a host of PR activity, recipe placements, influencer work and social media.
A range of new digital assets providing Scotch Lamb recipe inspiration, as well as infographics promoting the health and sustainability credentials of the meat, are also available to download from the Scotch Kitchen website.
“Given the difficult year so far, Love Lamb Week comes on the back of a buoyant time for the sector, with increased sales in-store, which has seen mince, chops and steaks being used in more home-cooked meals all over the country.
Lesley Cameron, QMS director of marketing and communications, said: “Love Lamb Week provides the industry with a great opportunity to come together to promote Scotch Lamb PGI – a fantastic, quality assured product which is versatile, easy to cook and absolutely delicious.
“In addition to its quality and taste, lamb boasts some impressive sustainability credentials with sheep production playing an important part in sustaining the diverse landscape for which Scotland is famed.
“I would encourage all those involved in the Scotch Lamb supply chain, from farmers through to chefs, to support Love Lamb Week 2020, and the wider campaign, by becoming a ‘Make it’ ambassador, downloading our new assets from the Scotch Kitchen website and posting on social, or simply sharing content on the Scotch Kitchen on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
“The support of the whole supply chain can make a huge difference to the number of consumers who see the positive credentials which underpin the Scotch Lamb brand.”
Will Jackson, AHDB’s strategy director for beef and lamb, said: “Given the difficult year so far, Love Lamb Week comes on the back of a buoyant time for the sector, with increased sales in-store, which has seen mince, chops and steaks being used in more home-cooked meals all over the country.
“However, there is still more we can do to demonstrate lamb’s brilliance. We want consumers to see that lamb doesn’t just hit you in the chops with flavour but is also nutritious and sustainable.
“Sheep have a really unique role in being able to live in our most extreme landscapes and converting grass into delicious and versatile meat. Not only that, they aid biodiversity and maintain our most beloved landscapes. Without them our countryside would be a very different place.”
HCC marketing manager, Rhys Llywelyn said: “Campaigns to promote lamb at retail, to help offset the loss of the eating out market, have been very successful this year, with consumers trying out new recipes helping to drive a major increase in sales.
“As well as continuing our own effective marketing of PGI Welsh Lamb, we’re also working together with our partners across the industry and with retailers large and small to build on this success.
“Love Lamb Week marks another high-point in this campaign, when we get a chance to emphasise lamb’s versatility, and its positive credentials in terms of sustainability and traceability. Customers can be assured that the Welsh Lamb that’s plentiful in shops at this time of year is traceable right back to the farm in Wales where it was reared.”
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