The Livestock and Meat Commission’s (LMC) recent advertising campaign, themed: 'Good Honest Food: The Truth About Beef' has proven to be a real winner with local consumers.

And the analytics now available, confirm this very encouraging trend.

The campaign told the real story of Northern Ireland Farm Quality Assured (NIFQA) beef, from the perspective of renowned local chef James Devine.

He chatted to Dr. Ruth Price, from Ulster University’s School of Biomedical Sciences; Agri-Food and Biosciences’ Institute (AFBI) research scientist Dr. Steven Morrison; NIFQA beef farmer Stuart Hamilton; and fellow chef Pearson Morris.

LMC’s marketing and communications manager, Lauren Patterson commented:

“They confirm a 62% awareness of the campaign amongst consumers in Northern Ireland, which is much higher than the UK average.”

According to the research, those who are aware of the messages contained within the campaign are significantly more likely to purchase NIFQA beef and lamb.

Patterson went on to confirm that those in the 16-24 and 50-64 age groups were most likely to be aware of ‘the truth about beef’ messaging.

She said: “This is a really positive outcome for the campaign as these two demographics have the biggest percentage of ‘red meat waverers’ for environmental and health reasons.

“In addition, those who had exposure to the campaign are more likely to agree that NIFQA beef is a natural source of nutrition, kind to the environment and high quality in nature," she added.

Patterson continued: "The campaign aim was to raise awareness of our world class NIFQA beef and lamb, and highlight the vital role it plays in the diet and our environment, and it has already made a great impact in the first burst.”

The Good Honest Food campaign will launch again this autumn, armed with a host of new lamb assets to accompany the existing beef content.