BERLIN: British ‘Quality Standard Mark’ lamb has been touring central and southern Germany in a bid to boost its growing popularity.
The visiting truck toured 21 high-end supermarkets over the course of 37 days as part of AHDB Beef & Lamb initiative allowing local foodies to sample Quality Standard Mark lamb.
The Quality Standard Mark Scheme for beef and lamb provides high levels of assurance about the meat people buy. All beef and lamb carrying the Mark is chosen according to a strict selection process to ensure it is succulent and tender. Quality Standard Mark (QSM) beef and lamb is produced to higher standards than required by law with a supply chain which is fully assured and independently inspected at every stage.
The German tour, which made its final stop at the end of November, has been hailed a success after gaining the support of retailers and supermarket butchers as well as local consumers.
Experts at AHDB Beef & Lamb say it’s essential to develop strong links with the German market – especially with the premium retail sector. Sales of UK lamb are on the rise with exports to Germany rising to 13,000 tonnes this year.
AHDB head of meat exports, Jean-Pierre Garnier said: “The German market for lamb is progressing well with more and more people appreciating its taste. Over the last three years, Germany has become the second largest market for UK lamb and sales are rising year after year.”
“Retailers and supermarket butchers are very supportive of this campaign and it has been praised by German consumers. We will be looking to build on this in 2017.”
Research suggests that between 10 and 20% of German people are foodies who look for high quality produce, enjoy cooking and sharing, and travel to food festivals – a demographic AHDB and farmers are keen to target.
