Awareness of NIFQA at record high, confirms LMC

PUBLIC awareness of the Northern Ireland Farm Quality Assurance (NIFQA) logo on beef and lamb is at an all time high, the Livestock and Meat Commission (LMC) has confirmed.

The claim is substantiated by detailed analysis of independent omnibus tracking data, generated from a representative survey of 1,000 people. The survey establishes that 93% of consumers who had seen the LMC ‘Good Honest Food’ media campaign, were aware of NIFQA beef, and 88% of these consumers purchase beef regularly.

LMC chief executive Ian Stevenson said, “Insights gleaned from tracking data on our recent advertising campaign paint a pleasingly positive picture of consumer perceptions of NIFQA beef and lamb.”

The multi-platform campaign relaunched in January this year and ran for three months across TV, radio, outdoor and digital platforms.

Ian continued, “The far-reaching impact of the messaging LMC pushed out on the health and environmental benefits of NIFQA beef and lamb is evident.

“Annually local red meat processors generate approximately £224m from sales of NIFQA beef and lamb in the NI market. This represents 15% of their total sales, which is an important foundation on which to build their external sales to Great Britain and a myriad of export markets around the world.

“The home market remains very important to our beef and lamb processors and by extension, to livestock farmers right across Northern Ireland. Through our advertising campaign we aim to raise awareness of the credentials of NIFQA beef and lamb and encourage consumers to actively seek out produce with the logo when shopping.”

Lauren Patterson, LMC marketing and communications manager commented on the results; “Encouragingly, we have seen a five percent uplift in consumer awareness of the NIFQA logo since 2020. Delving into the data, age cohort analysis shows that over three quarters of consumers of all ages now recognise the NIFQA logo. This is a very encouraging trend indeed.

“In addition to this there was 84% awareness of NIFQA beef produce: an uplift since 2021. Just short of 80% of those participating in the omnibus survey confirmed NIFQA beef as a natural source of vitamins and minerals, up four percentage points from 2021. This is, undoubtedly, driven by those who recognise the logo and had seen the preceding media campaign.”

Further positive results were recorded when it came to consumers perceptions on NIFQA beef’s environmental and sustainability credentials.

“Almost two thirds of participants agreed NIFQA beef is kind to the environment and 77% agreed that NIFQA beef is naturally produced.

“We also recorded an increase in the percentage of consumers always purchasing beef labelled with the NIFQA logo and significantly consumers seeking out the logo when looking for lamb is the highest since tracking began.”

The Commission is planning for the relaunch of the campaign with hopes that the next burst will deliver further positive results.

“The incremental rise in awareness of the NIFQA logo, which now resonates with the vast majority of NI consumers has been hugely encouraging. We want to thank all those retail and food service businesses who stock NIFQA produce and proudly display the logo, and all those who require NIFQA as part of their supply specifications, to keep up the good work in supporting local business and providing consumers with the quality produce they rightly seek and deserve. The success of the campaign and its quantifiable results demonstrate that consistency of messaging and multi-platform campaign delivery is ensuring the positive story of NIFQA beef and lamb is reaching the majority of consumers in Northern Ireland,” Lauren concluded.