NZ lamb push targets UKs youth
By Farmers Weekly staff
NEW ZEALAND lamb is poised to take a bite out of the UK market for new-season lamb with a promotional campaign targeted at younger consumers.
Meat New Zealands general manager Tim Richie said the move is necessary to protect producer returns.
Imports from the country are restricted by trade tariffs and returns can only be improved by increasing value of the volume already being exported.
A promotional campaign pushing smaller, quick and easy-to-cook cuts is expected early in the new year targeted at young consumers.
At the same time Kiwi meat plants are investing heavily in “weigh sort lines” to meet strict supermarket specs for packaging.
“We are moving in the same direction as the MLC,” said a spokeswoman. The change in marketing will help keep apace with a rise in single households and demands of a new generation of consumers, she added.
Independent food surveys suggest NZ lamb sales in the UK rose marginally this year, although imported volume, currently 66,700t – a third of the total brought in, is not expected to change significantly.