RED meat’s iconic True Aussie brand, which has underpinned Australia’s highly valuable beef reputation in global markets, will not be spread across other agriculture sectors until equivalent integrity systems are in place.
The idea of expanding the use of the brand across a broader range of Australian agricultural products has been bandied around for some time and True Aussie’s developers, Meat & Livestock Australia, at one stage even joined forces with the National Farmers Federation to try to nut out a way to do it.
However, MLA’s top marketing people explained, at a recent beef forum in Queensland, why that has not progressed.
Global brand manager of True Aussie Jacob Baldock said True Aussie was built on three pillars: ideal place, peace of mind and pure enjoyment.
“The first is pinned on the idea our livestock graze wide open spaces and we have great border protection and biosecurity – there is no better place on earth to raise beef,” he said.
“The second is based on our extensive quality and integrity systems.
“Each on their own in isolation is not a sexy thing that will sell beef but load them up and what it does is give customers peace of mind that what they are purchasing is fit for purpose.”
And the final pillar is largely the result of the two that come before it.
“Australian beef is exported to over 100 countries and enjoyed in a range of cuisines,” Mr Baldock said.
MLA’s chief marketing officer Lisa Sharp said those three pillars were bigger than Australian beef.
“The True Aussie brand has had very good success and as such there had been a lot of commentary about whether it could be used across other ag products,” she said.
“Everybody agrees on the positioning of the pillars – they resonate with global consumers.
“When it comes to an identifier on pack, this would mean all of a sudden all products would be linked – seafood, cherries, avocados, beef.
“The logo for the red meat industry says traceability, food safety quality.
“We are not yet at a point where there are equivalent integrity systems in other sectors.
“While there is enormous interest from other sectors we are yet to agree on a common level of equivalency to guarantee that peace of mind.”
