WITH retail data showing increasing numbers of shoppers buying fresh lamb, the industry united in a programme of promotion across the UK during ‘Love Lamb Week’ on 1-7 September.
2020 was the week-long initiative’s sixth anniversary. Once again, it received support from Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC), AHDB in England, QMS in Scotland, and LMC in Northern Ireland, as well as the National Sheep Association (NSA), Red Tractor and farming unions.
Love Lamb Week was set up in 2015 by the late Rachel Lumley, a passionate Cumbrian sheep farmer who wanted lamb to get the attention it deserves.
Through her leadership, as well as support from farmers and industry bodies, Love Lamb Week has caught the attention of top chefs as well as national press and broadcast media.
This year’s campaign introduced the second phase of the successful joint HCC, QMS and AHDB ‘Make it Lamb’ campaign, as well as running concurrently with HCC’s seasonal promotion of the PGI Welsh Lamb brand, which kicked off on August 1.
The campaign focused on encouraging people to try new recipes at home, as well as emphasising the sustainable and low-intensity ways in which home-produced lamb is farmed.
The campaign aimed to build on recent retail success for lamb.
Figures for the 12-week period covering May, June and early July showed that consumer spending on lamb in Britain was £139.6 million, up 19.2% on the same period last year. The data also showed a substantial increase in families either coming back to lamb or purchasing lamb for the first time.
HCC produced a new range of resources to help people get involved in Love Lamb Week.
New recipe booklets are available from independent butchers which are members of HCC’s Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef Butchers’ Club, and social media resources are available to share.
Also, more of HCC’s popular red meat recipe videos will be released. These have been produced by leading chefs from their own kitchens, and have so far racked up over a million views on Facebook alone.
HCC Marketing Manager Rhys Llywelyn said, “Campaigns to promote lamb at retail, to help offset the loss of the eating out market, have been very successful this year, with consumers trying out new recipes helping to drive a major increase in sales.
“As well as continuing our own effective marketing of PGI Welsh Lamb, we’re also working together with our partners across the industry and with retailers large and small to build on this success.
“Love Lamb Week marks another high-point in this campaign, when we get a chance to emphasise lamb’s versatility, and its positive credentials in terms of sustainability and traceability. Customers can be assured that the Welsh Lamb that’s plentiful in shops at this time of year is traceable right back to the farm in Wales where it was reared.”
Janet Finch-Saunders MS – the Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs – welcomed this year’s “Love Lamb Week” saying: “The word ‘iconic’ is used a lot, but Welsh Lamb – which has Protected Geographical Indication status – is an iconic Welsh product, is different and has special characteristics that are unique to Wales and cannot be replicated anywhere else.
“It a combination of our wonderful landscape, variable weather, and fantastic farmers that produce such good meat.
“It’s a fantastic product, is sustainable, contributes to the estimated £690 million* red-meat industry in Wales as well as supporting significantly the estimated 220,000 farming jobs in Wales, and above all is delicious, nutritious, and very versatile.”
Mrs Finch-Saunders urged people across Wales to visit their local butcher for Welsh Lamb, recipes, and cooking tips not just during Love Lamb Week, but also all year round.
