Scotch Beef Club relaunches in style to premium Italian buyers

Scotch Beef is now high fashion in Milan after Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) relaunched the Scotch Beef Club in Italy, focussing on increasing exports to this high-profile, premium market.

To celebrate the relaunch, an audience of leading foodservice stakeholders in the Italian red meat sector were invited to a Scotch-focussed event at one of Milan’s top hotels. A three-course gastronomic menu centred around Scotch Beef was complemented with Scotch whisky tasting, with the aim of building on already-strong exports to the country, which accounted for £10m (15%) of export sales in the year to July 2023.

Any restaurant business, in the UK or overseas, that serves premium quality Scotch Beef can join the Club and benefit from QMS’s marketing collateral and support to promote Scotch Beef.

Tom Gibson, Director of Business Development at QMS, said: “The Scotch Beef Club aims to promote the virtues of quality Scotch Beef to chefs and restaurateurs, and provides added value with support to promote the Quality Assurance, provenance and traceability of our premium beef.

“Increasing trade with high value export markets is top of our agenda, and Italy is a key market for us. We have a mission to work with all exporters on their own bespoke events to maximise this opportunity, and to ensure current and potential customers are aware of the Scotch difference – the factors which make Scotland the choice for premium red meat .”

Speaking at the launch, he said the country had always been an important market for Scotch Beef, with its wholesale and foodservice customer base being great advocates for the Scottish meat industry.

Attendees – who were shown a film showcasing Scotland’s red meat sector as well as seeing and tasting Scotch Beef – were also able to discuss it with technical, marketing and sales specialists at the event. Key messages focussed on the consistent quality, sustainability and exceptional taste and tenderness of Scotch Beef, attributes which are highly prized by Italy’s discerning customers.

QMS Brand Development Manager Gordon Newlands added: “Scotch Beef is already a highly-valued proposition in Italy, and the story behind our brand is hugely appealing. The Scotch Beef Club will allow us to build on this, to further develop relationships with current partners and to gain a stronger foothold into the foodservice sector.”