SCOTTISH-PRODUCED pork is set to benefit from a huge marketing campaign early in the new year, thanks to a cash injection from the Scottish Government.

Quality Meat Scotland has been awarded £125,000 to help fund the new marketing and public relations campaign for Specially Selected Pork, the brand under which the country's quality assured pigmeat reaches the market.

The 'Go Places with Pork' campaign will launch on January 21, and use TV, radio, print and billboard advertising, as well as a major digital and social promotional push, to highlight pork as a healthy and easy to cook ingredient which is also great value for money at a time of year when shoppers are watching their cash and healthy eating is high on the agenda.

Rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing said: “Specially Selected Pork is farmed and produced in Scotland and is valued for its high-quality provenance. I am delighted to award £125,000 to enhance Quality Meat Scotland’s ‘Go Places with Pork’ campaign to promote the brand further and to encourage more people to buy and eat this healthy and tasty source of protein.

“This funding aims to contribute to the delivery of the strategy I launched at this year’s Royal Highland Show to double the value of the pork industry in Scotland by 2030,” added the CabSec.

QMS chief executive Alan Clarke welcomed the funding, which he described as a 'major boost' for the Scottish pig industry: “This additional funding will make a huge difference to what we can deliver for the Scottish pork industry. We have a very innovative and exciting campaign which will be unveiled in January and we are delighted to be taking Specially Selected Pork to TV as part of the campaign.

“Our pork industry has a huge amount to be proud of in terms of their innovation and commitment to animal welfare and the result is a healthy, nutritious and tasty source of protein which is one of the most versatile food ingredients around,” said Mr Clarke, who highlighted the value of the partnership that QMS has with the Scottish SPCA, including the 'Approved by the Scottish SPCA' logo which can be used alongside the Specially Selected Pork logo.

The new marketing campaign ties in with the strategic objectives for pork marketing set out in the Scottish Pig Industry Strategy launched at the Royal Highland Show this year, which includes an ambition for the pork industry in Scotland to double its value by 2030, a target in line with the Scotland Food and Drink Partnership’s Ambition 2030 target to double food and drink turnover in Scotland.

Chief Executive of Scotland Food and Drink, James Withers, said: “This is a significant boost for our pig industry and it is timely too. The industry has shown its ambition to grow with the launch of its recent strategy and central to future success is a strong brand.

“That has been the foundation of Scotland’s food and drink success in recent years, winning customers at home and abroad. This investment will help ensure our pork sector’s reputation grows further in the minds of shoppers who want to identify products that are great tasting as well as produced to world class standards of welfare.”