The Farmers Mart Oct/Nov 2014 - Issue 36 | Page 37

SHEEP

MISS SCOTLAND BACKS ‘WHAM BAM
THANK YOU LAMB’ CAMPAIGN
Miss Scotland, Ellie McKeating, stepped out in a stunning
Scotch Lamb PGI branded dress in August to launch the
latest Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) campaign.
The unique dress, created
using Scottish wool
by Edinburgh-based
designer Alison Harm at
Psychomoda, celebrates
the high quality and natural
wholesomeness of Scotch
Lamb.
The launch event marked the
start of a major advertising
campaign by QMS. The key
objective of the “Wham Bam
Thank You Lamb” campaign

is to encourage consumers
to understand the versatility,
simplicity and speed of
cooking with lamb.
One component of the
campaign was the “Love
Scotch Lamb Weekend” in
August, organised jointly by
QMS, NFU Scotland and the
National Sheep Association
Scotland, which saw sheep
farmers heading into town
centres and retailers to meet

Miss Scotland 2014, Ellie McKeating.

Hazzledine said there were already some
big, well-funded projects researching
the subject, including Proteinsect and
Greeninsect. Proteinsect is focused on
rearing two species of fly and conducting
feeding trials on fish, chickens and pigs.
The Dutch are apparently leading the
way in introducing insect meal, with feed
company Coppens signing a deal with

To read more, visit www.farmers-mart.co.uk

consumers and encourage
them to sample top quality
Scotch lambs.
Ellie McKeating, who was
crowned Miss Scotland in May
2014, said her love of Scotch
Lamb was kindled at a young
age and lamb has remained a
firm family favourite.
“I have always loved
Scotch Lamb and it is hard
to understand why more
Scots don’t appreciate this
fantastic product right on their
doorsteps.”
Ellie switched her high heels
for wellies to visit a Kinross hill
farm, Tillyrie, near Milnathort
where Mark Thomson and
family run 400 ewes.
Suzie Carlaw, Marketing
Controller at QMS, said the
vision the campaign was
driving towards is all ages
of Scots having Scotch
lamb in their “every-day meal
repertoire”.
The 2013 “Wham Bam”
campaign, which won two
silver awards at this year’s
Scottish Marketing Society
Awards, succeeded in driving
a six percent increase in

insect producer Protix Biosystems to
include it in livestock feed when legislation
allows. Protix expects the protein will be
legal as of next summer, and Coppens has
agreed on the use of 200 tonnes of insect
fat and 300 tonnes of insect protein from
the black soldier fly.
The feed industry is facing a number
of issues – for example, nitrogen and

consumers viewing lamb as a
great mid-week meal.
“Scots eat much less lamb
per capita than elsewhere in
the UK so we are encouraging
them to make Scotch lamb a
regular purchase by tempting
them with dishes which can be
cooked in