Ladies in Beef is backing EBLEX’s campaign to get mini roasts on the midweek menu with its own initiative ‘Go Mini for Autumn!’
The traditional roast occasion is in long term decline with latest Kantar Usage data showing it is down by 5% year-on-year. That’s because consumer lifestyles have changed substantially in the past 50 years and the roast offering has not adapted at the same pace.
There has been a significant rise in the number of smaller households as well as greater time pressures on consumers as they work longer hours and lead increasingly busy lifestyles. Figures show that time spent preparing and cooking the main meal has almost halved since 1980, falling from 60 to just 32 minutes (Kantar Worldpanel).
To address the decline in the roasting category and to accommodate these lifestyle changes, EBLEX developed ‘The Carvery’; a range of contemporary beef and lamb mini roasts to appeal to today’s consumer. Prepared using seam butchery techniques which maximise the use and value of the carcase, the range of mini roasts will improve retail profit margins and deliver greater returns throughout the supply chain.
The Carvery range of mini roasts is targeted at the dining-for-two market and smaller families who do not want a large traditional roasting joint due to the cost and cooking time involved. The smaller more manageable cuts are more affordable, easier to cook and are versatile enough to be eaten as part of a wide range of meal ideas, any day of the week.
EBLEX’s plans to reinvigorate the traditional roast category will be supported by a new consumer TV advertising campaign which will air this autumn. The commercial will reach a mass audience and will position beef and lamb mini joints as the ideal midweek meal solution, inspiring customers to try something new and helping to boost sales in the category.
Ladies in Beef will support this with its ‘Go Mini for Autumn’ initiative which will see members up and down the country targeting their local media with the tongue-in-cheek message ‘Size doesn’t matter! Try a Midweek Mini Roast’.
Ladies in Beef co-founders, Minette Batters and Jilly Greed are enthusiastic about the campaign, which they hope will give a much needed boost to the beef industry.
Jilly said: “We’re delighted to team up with EBLEX to promote Red Tractor beef in this very challenging market. The Midweek Mini Roast concept is fantastic; consumers love a roast and there is real nostalgia about the Sunday roast occasion, but we need to find ways to encourage midweek sales of beef as well.
“Our ‘Go Mini for Autumn’ initiative is designed to encourage people to forget preconceptions about size and give these smaller, easy-to-cook cuts a go. Our members will be supporting EBLEX’s above-the-line advertising and consumer PR activity with regional PR and social media initiatives to help reinforce the message.
“We’ll also be encouraging shoppers to look for a quality assurance mark such as the Red Tractor logo featuring the Union flag. Not only is it one of the best indicators of British beef, it also provides a guarantee of traceability and independent inspection. From farm to fork, Ladies in Beef members are proud that British beef is world renowned. We want to help shoppers who want to buy British beef to do so more easily and to know that the Red Tractor logo stands for a meaningful quality assurance from British farms.”
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.
