Unified approach to support HCC’s Welsh Lamb roadshow

HCC’s popular consumer-focused supermarket roadshow came to Carmarthen this week as part of a four-month tour of Wales and key locations in England to be greeted by industry representatives alongside the town’s shoppers.

Dai Davies, Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) Chair was joined by members of NFU Cymru and FUW at Tesco, Carmarthen to stimulate support and sales of Welsh Lamb at the supermarket store.

The HCC initiative will have visited Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda stores as far afield as Wrexham, Exeter and Berkshire between the end of August and its conclusion in late November.

Staffed by expert cooks and located in supermarket car parks, it is giving shoppers a chance to taste a range of tempting, easy-to-cook Welsh Lamb recipes before they are encouraged to purchase cuts of Welsh Lamb in the stores. As well as visiting a host of locations in Wales, the food demonstration also set up in Swindon, Bracknell, Cirencester, Chester, Bristol, Weston-super-Mare and Exeter.

“The people of Carmarthen have joined many others across Wales in giving a brilliant response to our campaign,” said HCC Chairman, Dai Davies. “It accompanies a new grassroots promotion across the industry to seek the support of farmers and stakeholders in getting behind our quality PGI Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef products.

“It was great to have the support of the farming community of Carmarthen on this instance.”

Stephen James, NFU Cymru President, speaking after the event said: “It was great to talk to shoppers and to hear how they are already supporting our industry and explaining to others how they can do more by buying Welsh produce.

“The public clearly do not understand why there is foreign lamb on retail shelves at a time when home produced lamb is at peak season. This is a powerful message to those retailers who are not backing Welsh farmers.”

FUW Deputy President, Brian Thomas said: “There’s nothing better than being able to show our passion for producing excellent quality Welsh meat to the public on their way in to do the shopping. The FUW recently highlighted its aim to unite town and country for a more stable and sustainable market.

“Farmers speaking directly to consumers, we believe, is one of the best ways to unite the people of Wales to support Welsh farming.”

The roving promotion is featuring in a two-season long marketing blitz to back Welsh Lamb which also included a multi-channel television commercial campaign, a mobile billboard, digital and social media interventions, all strongly pushing the core message that “There’s lamb...and there’s Welsh Lamb.”

The latest addition to the wider campaign is an on-pack promotion to win a seven-night trip to Antigua for two, staying at one of the Caribbean’s finest hotels. The sticker will feature on Welsh Lamb products at butchers and participating supermarkets and allows purchasers to submit a unique code for their chance to be the lucky winner.