Page 16 - Beef-Week-2022

Stock Journal Beef Week | 2022
Promote and defend:

Red meat’s attack plan from here

By SHAN GOODWIN
OW Australian red meat is
positioned in a crowded and
Hcompetitive marketplace is
now more important than ever,
says managing director of Meat &
Livestock Australia Jason Strong.
These are some of the most
prosperous times the beef and sheep
industries have ever known and
that brings with it opportunity, he
believes.
Mr Strong said herd and ock
rebuilding, strong domestic and
global demand and a shortage
of protein across the world due
to African swine fever were all
contributing to record prices.
Ongoing and sustained success in
the business would be underpinned by
what was important to the consumer
- world-class traceability, food safety,
biosecurity and eating quality.
That places the Australian
industry in a fantastic position, he
said. SPEAK UP: Meat & Livestock Australia’s managing director Jason Strong says all involved in

Signi cant work had been done the red meat industry should not be afraid to call out overblown and out-of-context claims.
the Olympics in Japan, beef’s largest “ It is clear much of the on the development and execution
through 2021 towards driving
consumer preference towards
“Our focus therefore has also been
Australian red meat in international
markets, he reported.
of a whole-of-business approach to
commentary about
promote and defend the positive
One of the highlights was during
commitment to red meat
market. consumers’ declining attributes of red meat.”
Mr Strong reported the Red Meat,
“We created an Aussie Beef is overblown and out-of- Green Facts booklet launched at
Clubhouse in the Toyosu region of Beef Australia in May has now been
Tokyo which had great success with context and we shouldn’t distributed to 55,000 and the website
over 80,000 consumers attending be afraid to call it out. has received over 30,000 views.
and reaching a wider audience with a That campaign is being extended
combined media value of $7.5 million We must all be on the to include health facts, in a bid to
dollars,” Mr Strong said. front foot, proudly reinforce the nutritional credentials
“MLA’s Australian Olympic and of red meat and that eating it three to
Paralympic partnership meant beef sharing stories about the four times a week is a crucial part of

had a signi cant opportunity to credentials of red meat a balanced and sustainable diet that
reach an audience on mass scale. isn’t detrimental to the environment.
“And it was one that offered a Mr Strong also made mention of
credible platform to successfully - MLA managing director industry efforts to bring balance
communicate beef’s nutritional to things like vegan food labelling
Jason Strong

bene ts and strengthen its position in and how it’s produced. “ using livestock terms and the United
the minds of the consumer.” digital channels receiving 45m Nations Food Systems Summit.
The result: Beef’s value share impressions and 2.4m engagements. “It is clear much of the
increased to a level that is the On the sheep meat front, the commentary about consumers’
highest it has been in the past 18 ‘Lambassador’ program was declining commitment to red meat
months, equating to $40 million extended globally across Asia and is overblown and out-of-context and
in a category worth $2.3 billion. into other markets. we shouldn’t be afraid to call it out,”
Australian household penetration This project was originally launched he said.
of beef increased by 0.6pc during in Japan in 2015 and aims to build a “We must all be on the front foot,
the campaign period - that’s an team of educated ambassadors and proudly sharing stories about the
additional 67,000 households. in uencers across food service to credentials of red meat and how

Over in the United States, MLA’s promote Australian lamb. it’s produced, based on facts not
‘Eat Better...Feel Better’ grass-fed mistruths.
beef summer campaign captured Next challenge “Nothing can compete with a large
consumer attention during the The task now is in mobilising and group of committed people if we are
season synonymous with outdoor motivating others to share the story, all proactive and positive about what
grilling and the results there were according to Mr Strong. our products have to offer.”
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