Consumers seek out better, home-grown
and traceable beef
Consumers are driving forward the Westcountry beef brand, as Jilly Greed, of the National Beef Association South West, reports.
THE future for the South West beef industry looks more promising. Market opportunities are emerging for branded quality beef as a result of consumer demand.
A seismic shift has taken place in public perception of local and regional foods, moving from niche to mainstream. Assurances about quality and integrity of production, coupled with increasing awareness of climate change, carbon emissions and the impact on the environment, mean consumers are increasingly focusing on healthy eating, freshness of food, ethical sourcing, and food miles – setting a new agenda.
Fifty-eight per cent of British consumers are "foodies," with local and regional sourcing accounting for £3.7 billion, six per cent of the British premium sector, and growing in fresh produce and meat. The South West is outperforming the UK, with growth up by seven per cent on beef.
The market is being driven by consumers, galvanised by Jamie Oliver and other celebrity chefs, with meal cooking time increasing to an average 46 minutes as more people opt for healthy eating options and cook for themselves using fresh produce, instead of ready-meals and take-ways.
A variety of retail outlets are bringing competition for product. Although 48 per cent of South West beef is sold in supermarkets, with 20 per cent in hospitality and food service, 12 per cent is purchased from local butchers and other independent outlets – and it is increasing.
Consumers are voting with their feet and purse and cherry picking, using supermarkets for bulk or commodity products either instore or online, but buying fresh meat from a local butcher, farm shop, farmers’ market or direct from the farmer.
Taste of the West, the regional food group set up 15 years ago, has seen unprecedented interest from major retailers in local and regional foods, organising meet-the-buyer events for Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Budgens and 3663. Now a retail range has been developed, tailoring product to independent chains, using the TOTW brand to give regional identity in-store and on-shelf. In 2007, the range will generate over £1 million in additional sales, piloted in Budgens and Mole Valley Farmer stores. Encouragingly Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s are creating regional buying teams in the South West, responding to consumer demand.
Meanwhile, the South West is a region of gastronomic excellence with more celebrity chefs than any other area – Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, Rick Stein, John Burton-Race, Lesley Walters, Michael Caines and Jamie Oliver and his Fifteen Restaurant in Cornwall.
Yet 70 per cent of the beef served in the hospitality sector is imported, with limited traceability and no proper audit trail giving country of origin, animal welfare and food-safety assurances. Until a regional brand is fully developed and the audit trails are tightened, there will be little menu transparency to guide the consumer or prevent imported product masquerading as British, regional or local.
The Country Land and Business Association campaign "Ask If It’s Local" encouraging consumers to question food origin when eating out, is a good beginning to raise public awareness.
The prospects for the South West beef industry are much improved, yet profitability and confidence remain elusive as price pressure continues.
Tesco, Britain’s largest and most dominant retailer, source 70 per cent of the beef produced in the region through two large Westcountry abattoirs and processing plants. Tesco have the largest number of stores in the South West, followed by Sainsbury’s and Somerfield in the convenience sector. All have a key role to play in the sustainability of our South West food and farming.
But the real issue for our beef sector is not just lack of branding but competition for product because of the closure of abattoirs in the region. Which means that the multiples can source South West beef at 15p to 25p per kilo below average prices paid to producers in Scotland and the Midlands. They gain an immediate commercial advantage, achieving greater profit margin. The smaller and medium-sized abattoirs like Jaspers (Treburley) Ltd are vital to the industry.
Fortunately, prices have risen ten per cent in the last 12 months, largely through export. But the average farmgate price in the South West remains 15 per cent below the price paid to producers 11 years ago – and unsustainable. There are retailers, though, who recognise quality and the need to secure a long-term supply base. Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Somerfield on its Westcountry Best Ever beef range, have all developed forward contracts where a profitable margin is passed to producers. Tesco and other major retailers have yet to follow. Which is why we need the brand more than ever to differentiate our beef to secure a premium and increase competition to achieve a fair farmgate price.
Working with Taste of the West, using its brand identity, the National Beef Association South West, is exploring market opportunities in the retail and food service sectors, focusing on quality and integrity of sourcing. With positive support from the Engl;ish beef and Lamb Executive, Meat South West and the NFU, a combination of private and public funding is being sought to spearhead the initiative and bring on board a brand development company. The aim is to have product on-shelf or in the fresh-meat counter in 2008, with a whole promotional package and integrated supply chain, generating a profit passed fairly to producers. If successful, lamb, chicken and pork will follow.
South West England has the image, the grass, the climate, the traditional breeds and a volume supply chain. We have built-in brand values in our landscape, our farming and tourism traditions, a warm and friendly welcome and a dynamic food culture. Best of all, we produce food with attitude, with provenance, part of the natural environment.
The only way forward for our vulnerable suckler beef industry is to champion a regional beef brand that resonates with consumers, taking a valueless, anonymous, global commodity product and turning it into a beef brand of quality, provenance and integrity.
