January 11, 2006

Premium meat catches on with UK consumers

UK consumers are now showing a preference for premium fresh meat over value pack ones, a research commissioned by the British Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) shows.

The premium fresh meat market, with 100 fresh meat brands, is worth about GBP2.5 billion annually and is the main factor contributing to overall growth in the meat industry lately.

The industry grew more than 50 percent over the last year, and from a very small consumer base too. However, the value sector also rose 26 percent with Tesco Value and Asda Smart Price driving growth in this sector, and Sainsbury's Taste the Difference and Tesco's Finest dominating the market.

Meat Demand Trends, a publication by MLC Economics highlighted these findings in its latest issue.