By Tony Goodger, communications manager, AIMS
For many years I worked for MLC / AHDB on developing the sales of red meat in public sector catering and latterly, before joining AIMS, for a meat wholesaler supplying the school meals market.
What I learned during that time was just how large ‘P’ political the school meals market is and, that however much I could make the case for beef, lamb and pork on the menu it was chicken and turkey that buyers were most interested in, but that a roast on a Wednesday was a must.
I have no intention of raking over the coals of Turkey Twizzlers other than to say that at the time of Jamie Oliver’s intervention into the school meals then then head of the organisation who represented the sector nationally famously said to the media, “I don’t know whether to hug him or hit him”.
Torfaen County Borough Council recently posted an article about the school kids favourite meal, roast turkey with stuffing, roast and boiled potatoes, veg selection and gravy.
The county’s dietitian noted that “Our turkey dinner with stuffing is a good source of quality low fat and low saturated fat protein, as well as both iron and zinc” whilst the head of school meals added that this was part of their sustainable school meals strategy and offered a targeted saving in energy use saying, “Our frozen turkey joint has been swapped to fresh turkey joint reducing safe cooking time (and energy consumption) by an hour per school”.
And the children’s view, “The whole meal is amazing” and “It’s really juicy and sweet”.
Add to this, if you are unlucky enough to be admitted to an NHS hospital in Ashford Middlesex, you’ll find that turkey steak is a regular item on the menu.
However, despite the best efforts of school meals, the NHS and Toby Carveries, UK consumption has halved from 4kg to 2kg per head per annum over the last two decades.
I am told that one of the reasons is the lack of new product development ideas and, looking around many of the supermarkets it is hard not to agree.
Tucked away on the poultry fixture, often on the bottom shelf, is turkey’s range of me too products from burgers to meat balls, and mince to sausages all competing in a crowded market which remains dominated by beef.
The premiss on which ready meals are developed is the need for the dish to be by and large healthy, indulgent and convenient and whilst dishes such as M&S’s Turkey Lasagne, and Waitrose’s Slow Cooked Turkey Thigh with Rich Turkey Gravy sit on the shelves of the premium end supermarkets but the mid-market and discounters have yet to really come on board.
To my mind there are opportunities which have yet to be fully released. These include growing consumer awareness of turkey’s lean meat credentials and it’s acceptability to those following protein rich diets.
Equally, it is reported that there is emerging interest in turkey meat in Asian markets and in particular, China. Given the popularity of these cuisines within the ready meal category, it is surely time for turkey to add some much needed protein variety the sea of chicken, pork and beef dishes.
As for other opportunities, stay tuned for my June column when I’ll be looking at export and further added value markets.