A new £1.4m promotional push seeks to stem the steady decline in lamb sales and boost consumer attitudes towards the meat.
The marketing campaign wants to put the meat back on people's plates amid fears the younger generation aren't eating enough of it.
The promotional push will see targeted activity in two bursts, the first starting in summer and the second in September, to coincide with peak supply of British lamb.
By focusing on lamb’s unique flavour and its versatility, the work, spearheaded by AHDB, aims to stem the decline in sales and boost attitudes towards lamb across a number of different target audiences.
The campaign will work with retailers, foodservice outlets and industry stakeholders to ensure a coordinated approach to support promotion of the sheep sector in the coming months.
Will Jackson, AHDB Beef & Lamb Sector Strategy Director, said work has been going on for 'months' on how to best support the sheep sector in the 'face of uncertainty'.
“Though outcomes are still unclear, we’re focusing our marketing efforts on sheep for the forthcoming seasons to ensure lamb is at the forefront of consumers’ minds – coinciding with the availability of autumn lamb for shoppers.
“This will mean efforts being concentrated on delivering a lamb advertising and promotional campaign in summer and September 2019,” Mr Jackson said.
Work will continue in other respects to support both beef and lamb with meat, health and environment being key parts of the ongoing strategy.
The campaign push is part of a multi-million pound series of marketing promotions on the domestic market planned in 2019.
It will use a variety of different channels, such as large format outdoor posters, press adverts and social media channels to hit different target audiences.
Richard Findlay, NFU Livestock Board Chairman, said: “We’re fully supportive of the move of marketing to concentrate on lamb, helping to retain and grow our domestic market during a period of uncertainty.
“Timing the campaign in September means consumers can enjoy British lamb in the height of our season and it’s a great opportunity to drive sales.”
