Both the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Scottish Craft Butchers (SCB) have revealed plans for campaigns celebrating and promoting pork during the month of October.
Love Pork returns for 2023
The AHDB campaign kicks-off on 2nd October with the unveiling of the newly redesigned Love Pork website, which AHDB said offers a modern and user-friendly platform with improved navigation and easy-to-follow instructions. It features a collection of "delicious and versatile pork recipes that are easy to prepare."
The website will include educational sections on pork cuts and nutrition, highlighting the health benefits of eating pork as well as dispelling any myths. Consumers will have the ability to search for recipes based on specific criteria and provide feedback through the website's new star rating system.
Also kicking off on 2nd October is AHDB’s collaboration with Tasty UK to engage the 18-25-year-old ‘Gen Z’ audience, by delivering simple pork recipes through popular social channels. The 'Love Pork Student Staples' series on Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok will "provide a fun element" to connect with the younger generation and introduce them to the benefits of cooking with pork.
The campaign aims to reach 35 million consumers, with the autumn burst running from 23rd October until 4th December, showcasing dishes priced under £1.50 per portion.
Advertisements featuring the campaign will be showcased online and on video-on-demand shows on Sky, ITV and Channel 4. Campaign materials can also be found in eight major supermarket chains, where signage in the aisles, along with on-pack stickers featuring QR codes, will be placed to provide shoppers with convenient access to budget-friendly recipe ideas.
Carrie McDermid, AHDB’s head of marketing, said: “The ‘Feed Your Family For Less With British Pork’ campaign aims to inspire families across the UK to cook simple, quick, delicious and budget-friendly British pork meals.
“Showcasing the Love Pork logo with the Union flag and the Red Tractor logo, the new Love Pork website, launching on 2nd October, offers easy access to mouth-watering recipes that prove cooking with pork can be both affordable and exciting.
“Through our partnership with Tasty UK and engaging with Gen Z on social media, we aim to make cooking with pork accessible and enjoyable for the younger generation.”
Porktober is back
Launched by Scottish Craft Butchers (SCB) in October 2022, Porktober is now embraced by the National Craft Butchers and backed by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).
It was initially launched to support pig producers in Scotland, but the success of the campaign has seen it return in 2023.
Throughout the month of October, SCB from Shetland to the Borders will be promoting the nutritional and economical value of pork in a “buy Scottish” drive in support of local pig producers.
SCB president George Jarron said that Scotland’s local independent butchers were a key outlet for home produced pork and urged members to get behind the “Porktober” initiative to drive up sales and increase demand for Scottish pork.
"Pork is such a versatile but underrated meat and has to be one of the mainstay meats of a butcher's sales," he said, "and local independent outlets supply locally-sourced Scottish pork to their customers in a wealth of products from sausages and bacon to chops and ribs.
"Throughout Porktober, around 400 independent butchers the length and breadth of Scotland will be turning the spotlight on this great Scottish staple and highlighting the versatility, nutritional value and cost effectiveness of home-produced pork.
"Hopefully, customers will get behind this initiative and help support and celebrate the country's pig farmers."
Jarron stressed that the Scottish pig industry still needed the support of butchers and consumers to ensure it was the product of choice rather than foreign imports.
“Porktober sees butchers promote pork in its many guises,” he said. “Sales increased throughout the initiative last year and we urge customers to look out for special offers and bargain buys as the month progresses.”
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
