Almost eight million 18–39-year-olds in the UK identify as flexitarian, with this estimated to rise to almost half the UK’s population by 2025. To these consumers, sustainability, animal welfare, traceability and local produce are key to their buying behaviour. They may be looking to buy less meat, but they are also looking to buy better.

With flexitarians driven by ethical and environmental reassurance, the quality assurances of our Scotch labels are well placed to motivate consumers to trade up to better quality, high welfare, locally reared meat. The ‘flexitarian’ movement therefore is an opportunity rather than a threat to our brands.

QMS’ forthcoming marketing activity builds upon our successful ‘Make It with Field Cred’ campaign to further strengthen understanding around what buying Scotch really means. Through multi-channel advertising, QMS will showcase that purchasing Scotch Beef PGI, Scotch Lamb PGI and Specially Selected Pork are healthy options that are sustainable, traceable and guarantees of the best animal welfare and production methods.

This will be supported by more “long-form education,” not only for school children – through continuously updated teaching resources, cookery initiatives and farm visits - but also in the community through butchers, retailers, the media, and chef collaborations. The priority is not only to highlight the benefits of eating red meat as part of a healthy balanced diet, but about how the whole supply chain is working to build the strong sustainability credentials  that influence buying choices.

Going forward, consumer insight continues to be the key to success; enabling us to evolve our marketing strategy and ensure our brands stay relevant. Putting the consumer at the heart of what we do, from field to plate, has never been so important, and this is what will keep red meat on the weekly shopping list.

We are set to reach 86% of young adults in Scotland with our new ‘Make it with Scotch’ campaign, sharing inspiring recipes that blend Scotch meat with other ingredients such as lentils and pulses to give the very best nutrition at mealtimes.

Look out for adverts in cinemas, bold social media promotion via @makeitscotch, and collaboration with influencers on the growing video sharing platform Tik Tok and Instagram.