Why should farmers, the primary producers, contemplate branding beef? Surely that is the job of the retailer or the Levy Boards?

Introduction

Are we promoting beef to our customers the way other products advertise to them? Branding and marketing are areas of business farmers rarely, if ever, take part in. In the past 20 years our customers have changed – as the public have become, at least in their opinion, more aware of local, national and global issues, more educated in how their food is produced and farming practices, better informed of the health and welfare of animals.

Social media and the Internet are largely behind the change. It is time farmers realise our customers are no longer just the retailers or restaurants selling our produce, but the consumers shopping in the supermarket or reading the menu now ultimately choose to buy what we grow. Do farmers understand how to sell their wares? Do farmers understand how to brand their products? Can we build a brand that is ‘British Beef’ as we approach Brexit and the opportunities this represents for a country only 70% self-sufficient for beef?

We all have friends that support our industry, but if we think laterally there is potential to influence a large part of our home market: laying out the social network of the average farming family the number of people that could be educated and encouraged to buy British Beef would be remarkable.

A good example of branding in action

Great British Beef Week is now in its fifth year: started by a farming group this is an industry wide initiative devoted to promoting the good things about British Beef. Taking a multichannel approach, #GBBW uses social media, the press etc. to disseminate marketing and consumer information aimed at consumer education and grow consumption.

Branding

To understand how to build a brand firstly we must understand what a brand is: the overall experience of a customer that distinguishes an organisation or product from its rivals in the eyes of the consumer.

Brand management: the processes undertaken by brand owners to maintain, improve, and uphold their brand so the name is associated with positive results. This involves:

• Consumer perception
• Consumer satisfaction
• Consistency of product
• Marketing strategy

It is hard to see any concerted efforts to brand beef – at farm, as an industry or even at country level?

We seem to expect the levy boards (AHDB, HGC, LMC and QMS) to undertake all our branding, whilst the combined budget of all UK red meat levy boards being approximately £30M is expected to be split across farmer education, research and industry promotion both internally and globally. Whilst the dairy industry has its own cross industry bodies there is nothing similar in beef: the Dairy UK work alongside The Dairy Council, to help brand milk based products to the consumer.

Is there scope to create a brand for beef that truly fulfils consumer expectations? Whilst the likes of Scotch or Welsh Beef have been designated PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status, this can add value but how does the average farmer gain or influence this?

Social licence

Still a relatively new concept, yet one that requires consideration by all farmers, especially when looking to build a brand. Social License refers to the level of acceptance, or approval, by the public and stakeholders to allow operations to continue.

We must look to educating our consumers and ensure they understand how beef is produced in the UK – otherwise there is a likelihood more and more public pressure will come to bear on the industry. British Beef should be promoted in terms of its welfare and assurance standards alongside the level of traceability within the industry, when compared to other countries. We have an industry that takes its roles and responsibilities very seriously: reducing and removing antibiotics from the food chain, having no growth promoters or hormone treatments, and focusing on grass production alongside sustainable agriculture.

Consumer trends

By considering social license and embracing the customers’ view of what ethical beef production is, it should be possible to harness goodwill and develop a British Beef brand. Consumer trends, such as veganism, instead of being seen negatively, should be used to develop sales and improve the returns to the industry by differentiating British Beef from our competitor’s.

The UK is effectively an island nation, with demand for beef outstripping our production by 25– 30% each year. The consumer is looking for reasons to buy our beef, and we should be providing them with the information to justify and validate their purchase.

Beyond the name – influencing the brand

Eating quality, in terms of taste and tenderness, and consistency of product must be addressed if the brand of British Beef is to grow. Beef is one of the main meat proteins, and has to compete with chicken and pork for weekly shopping as well as eating out. The price of beef means it is always going to be seen as an expensive choice, so any problem with this purchase – often on tenderness or flavor – could be seen as damaging to the brand. Brand management is vital if we are to halt the drop in beef consumption, and a consistent eating experience will be integral to this.

As farmers we have minimal, if any, influence on the consistency of beef once it is processed. Breed itself has little to do with eating experience, compared to sex, age, feeding practices, stress and handling prior to or during transit. Producing numbers of cattle to a set process with age and diet managed for best consistency would make one of the biggest differences to the brand. Chickens and pigs are grown in their 100s and 1000s with the genetics and diets strictly controlled to produce a very consistent product to a price.

Grass fed, grain fed, pasture for life, organic, breed specific – all these can be seen on beef labelling in the supermarket or butchers counter. Restaurants and food outlets proudly state they are selling local beef or specific breed or even farming system – but does the consumer understand the differences? Do we, as farmers, understand the impact all this can have on the final product? Repeatable experience and a quality product – that is brand management. Are we ready for this?

Conclusion

There is so much we could all do as farmers to help develop our beef market, lift demand and add value to the beef price, before looking to export our product. We have a captive market that wants British Beef but do we understand what is needed to fulfil this contract?