Sandra Hill, APL Retail Category Manager

Australian Pork Butchers is a free program resourced by Australian Pork Limited (APL) dedicated to providing insights, resources, and marketing material to support the sale of pork within retail butchers.

The past year has seen an overhaul for the program, shifting to focus on creating a supportive community and unlocking new communication channels. APL has also been focussed on developing practical resources that can be converted into purchase and consumer instore marketing material that entices the consumer to try pork.

The program aims to communicate directly to retail butchers and their consumers. This unique approach helps overcome the barriers butchers might face in selling pork, then integrating the hurdles to provide a solution of more pork on forks.

The introduction of the Australian Pork Butchers Facebook group is an interactive extension of the successful weekly e-newsletter with snapshot insights, industry updates, marketing advice and an additional platform to showcase their own successes with pork to inspire others.

The online community allows two-way communication with the Australian Pork team and unlocks access to more members of the industry to engage with the program. The average Facebook engagement rate across all industries is just 0.08%, however the Australian Pork Butchers group has an engagement rate of 13%, well above the industry benchmark.

Instore marketing presence remains a priority for the program, establishing a year-round presence to stay front of mind for consumers. To enhance this presence throughout the year, APL launched an additional mid-year pork point of sale (POS) kit last year, supporting the everyday consumption of pork. The kit focussed on versatility, consumer education around quick simple everyday recipes and pork cuts.

The butchers POS kits were also promoted through trade media, with newly created Christmas POS imagery and recipes running in national media outlets in November and December.

APL’s market research has shown there is a lack of grab-and-go and valued added options within local butchers. The new value-added content aims to create workroom ready practical recipes that focus on the gaps in the market within butchers and their pork offering.

Value added recipes prove to be an effective introduction to pork for the unfamiliar customer, helping to increase the conversion to purchase pork. The new range was such a success that a top 20 recipe book was created as an added resource available for free through the program. These value-added recipes are available on our website.

APL are now looking ahead at 2022 to being a year of growth and strength within our community. We will continue to foster our connections, build on resources and garner butcher support. If you know of a butcher in your area who you think would benefit from the program, please point them in our direction. Check out our website or contact porkbutchers@australianpork.com.au