New Pork Marketing Campaign to Focus on Younger Consumers

UK - With a recent growing reliance on the older consumer, the pork industry’s marketing thrust over the next three years will be focus on young families and shoppers who currently tend to chose other meats over pork.
calendar icon 5 December 2013
clock icon 3 minute read

When they were younger, what did your granny and grandpa like doing most on Sunday afternoons, when grandpa came back from the pub? Occasionally on Wednesday evenings too, when the mood took them.

That’s right. They sat down to a meal of roast pork with apple sauce, stuffing and roast potatoes. What, indeed, could be better?

But these days, even though bacon remains the nation’s favourite food, pork’s image in general is beginning to look a little jaded. Research suggests that increasingly as an industry, we are reliant on older, generally less affluent consumers.

So the industry’s marketing thrust over the next three years will be to give pork a make-over, particularly targeting younger families and those shoppers who are currently classified as only “medium” or “light” purchasers.

The first part of the strategy will involve in-depth consumer research, in conjunction with processors, to ensure that industry messages are targeted effectively, says BPEX in its draft three-year business plan.

The aim will be to rejuvenate the image of pork, with particular emphasis on Red Tractor pork. Ways of doing this will include stressing the health and environmental benefits of pork and pork products, and capitalising on the marketing potential of English pig farmers' Real Welfare audits.

And to ensure shoppers are not mislead by dodgy labelling, BPEX will ensure samples are collected regularly and isotope-tested to check the origin of the pork is as stated on the pack.

Market research indicates that consumption of specifically British pork has increased year on year. But in the last 12 months retail pork consumption in general has declined, probably because the average price has risen well above inflation to reflect increased production costs.

BPEX’s goal in its rejuvenation campaign will be to see a 10 per cent improvement in responses to pork, in consumer surveys.

Another strand of its campaign to grow the market for pork will be to build on recent export success, particularly outside of the European Union.

It will work with government to secure access to priority export markets as determined by processors. It will continue to provide export market intelligence, support selected inward and outward trade missions, and have a presence at strategic overseas trade shows.

Fifth-quarter exports are currently worth 30-50p a kilo to producers.

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