From Consumer Behaviour Surveys to Times Square: Taste Pure Nature Launches in the US

Beef and Lamb NZ did its homework before last week launching the Taste Pure Nature country of origin brand campaign in the US – a launch that included a huge billboard in New York’s Times Square (above) and resulted in 162 media articles that reached a potential audience of 125 million.

The Taste Pure Nature brand was built over two years of research and mahi, which included commissioning consumer behaviour surveys from our Integrating Value Chains team in late 2017.

Integrating Value Chains conducted four customer behaviour surveys for the Our Land and Water National Science Challenge over 2017–2018. Beef and Lamb NZ commissioned the research team to conduct similar surveys for other market segments.

The reports and digital tools produced for Our Land and Water offer insight into consumer behaviour and preferences in market, including consumer use of media and technology.

The Taste Pure Nature campaign aims to tell a New Zealand ‘red meat story’ that highlights our grass-fed, free-range farming systems

Following consumer research across six key markets, Beef and Lamb NZ identified a segment of consumers as ‘Conscious Foodies’. These are people who place importance on quality, provenance, animal welfare and the environment – and crucially, will pay a premium for free-range, grass-fed, hormone-free and antibiotic-free red meat.

Research also showed that Conscious Foodies are aware of New Zealand, but don’t know anything about our farming practices. The Taste Pure Nature campaign aims to tell a New Zealand ‘red meat story’ that highlights our grass-fed, free-range farming systems and high animal welfare standards to consumers in our international markets.

Integrating Value Chains research suggests there is potential to add a 20% premium to New Zealand beef and lamb in the US market, generating an additional $238 million in export returns.

The Taste Pure Nature brand aims to deliver environmental as well as economic benefits.

Only meat from farms that are part of the New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme (NZFAP) are eligible to use the Taste Pure Nature origin brand; so far 2588 farms have been audited to this standard. The NZFAP provides assurances on integrity, origin, traceability, biosecurity, and animal health and welfare. Work is underway to build more elements of sustainability and animal welfare into the assurance system.

Our Land and Water research also underpins Beef and Lamb NZ’s Environment Strategy, launched in May 2018, to ensure the claims from this $7 billion industry are met.

Beef and Lamb NZ expects to launch the Taste Pure Nature brand in China later in 2019, and plans to continue its science-led approach.

Nick Beeby, Beef and Lamb NZ’s general manager of market development, says the industry body will be monitoring the campaign by measuring preference for New Zealand beef and lamb, and looking for long-term improvement in price relative to our main competitors.

“Speaking with other origin brand owners such as Australia’s True Aussie and Ireland’s Origin Green,” he says, “we know their long-term success has depended on them constantly testing and evolving their approach, and that’s the same mentality we’re taking with Taste Pure Nature.”

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For more information about this and related research, see:

• Integrating Value Chains
• Beef in California, an online tool to access and analyse results of a survey of beef consumers in California about their consumer behaviour, preferences, technology use, understanding of Māori enterprise, and country of origin preferences
• Consumer Insights and Willingness to Pay for Attributes: New Zealand Beef Products in California, USA, AERU Research Report No. 348, June 2018 (PDF)
• Taste Pure Nature information sheet (PDF)
• The Red Meat Story Journey by Beef and Lamb NZ (PDF)