Launched this week, the new website coincides with the latest stage of Quality Meat Scotland’s campaign to promote pork products in Scotland.

The website is a valuable new resource helping consumers to find out everything they need to know about Specially Selected Pork, the quality and welfare guarantees that go with branded product and recipes highlighting the versatility.

Laurent Vernet, Head of Marketing at Quality Meat Scotland said: “The launch of this new website is a significant development in our campaign, building on the brand and adding a depth of information to our advertising.

“Recent research shows that for a growing number of ethical consumers, and particularly for pork, animal welfare standards are an important driver for purchase.”

Ethical shoppers are one of the quickest growing sectors in the market. Independent research from the IGD Grocery Unit showed that 74% of all shoppers surveyed were interested in two critical areas, buying local and purchasing products that come with guarantees on animal welfare.

Scotland’s welfare standards were highlighted in a recent report published by the Farm Animal Welfare Council, which said that the majority of pigs in Scotland are kept to a higher welfare standard than elsewhere in the EU and other countries.

Laurent said: “The new website means that our effective and simple rallying call of ‘Get some pork on that fork’ can be supplemented with a wealth of information about Scotland’s world-class production standards, and enable people to make an informed choice to seek out Specially Selected Pork.

“The site also gives consumers the opportunity to sign up and be notified every time we release new recipes or run new campaigns and competitions. It’s designed to be the home of all things pork on the ‘net.”

Previous campaigns have worked extremely well for pork in drawing more Scots to the category. Recent retail intelligence from TNS for the year to 13th July 2008, shows that annual expenditure is up 8% to £52.5 million with volume up 7% to more than 11,300 tonnes.

We have also worked hard to improve the image of Specially Selected Pork with Scots increasingly viewing fresh pork as an easy to cook, versatile and healthy meat.

QMS last week welcomed the announcement of £200,000 immediate funding by the Scottish Government to further improve marketing of pork products, nearly doubling the current marketing spend.