A new levy-funded campaign promoting pork is set to launch in the autumn, aiming to build on the success of the Pulled Pork campaign.
Defra has just given the green light to a marketing proposal from AHDB Pork, which has committed an extra £1m to marketing British pork over the course of its draft three year strategy. The extra funding will be weighted heavily towards this year.
The new campaign will target the lucrative midweek market, AHDB Pork strategy director Mick Sloyan told the National Pig Association: “We had been waiting on Defra to give us the nod for a campaign that is going to be run in September. That has now been done and we are pressing on,” he said.
“This time we are going to try and tackle the midweek market. We are looking at the loin steak, with a bit of fat around the edge. It won’t be the only thing we go with."
He added that the loin market was the biggest by volume for the pork sector in the UK. “But if you talk to the processors, it is one of the hardest to make a margin on, which is one of the reasons we are focusing in that area,” he added.
Mr Sloyan said there was a ‘huge amount’ of work to be done, including ‘lining up the retailers and the processors’, but said conversations so far have gone well.
Pork sales attributed to a TV advertisement last year gave the pig industry a £13m boost according to figures.
