The strategy, launched at QMS’s annual industry breakfast briefing at the Royal Highland Show, builds on the Scottish red meat industry’s impressive performance, having outperformed the rest of the UK by £130 million in production and £124m in retail performances between 2016 and 2022, according to QMS’s recent independent impact report.

The brand now looks to build upon this success with its new strategy, dubbed ‘Scotland: The choice for premium red meat’. Its mission, to lead the development of Scotland’s red meat sector by driving demand from consumers who recognise the brands as a mark on integrity, provenance and with sustainability at its core.

Built around three strategic pillars; Provenance; Productivity and Profitability; Planet and Place, the five-year plan looks to lead the development of Scotland’s red meat sector by driving demand from consumers who recognise the Scotch brands as a mark of integrity.

Central to enhancing integrity and driving demand is the delivery of three “game-changing” projects, which will enable the Scotch and Specially Selected Pork brands to compete in both the home and global markets.

The three games changing projects, include advancing work on genomics, boosting brand integrity with world-leading assurance for customers, and securing funding for a verification system for the eating quality of Scottish red meat proteins.

The Scotch and Specially Selected Pork brands will also embrace new sustainability criteria, this will be delivered within the scope of the quality assurance schemes.

Kate Rowell, chair of QMS, said: “Our industry, like so many others, has gone through a period of unprecedented volatility. A global pandemic, a constitutional upheaval from leaving the European Union and a war on our Continent have all erupted in the last three years.

“Added to that, there is the ongoing climate emergency which is challenging the way the world lives, works and consumes. Food security pressures are growing and, closer to home, wholesale change to agriculture policy is on the horizon.

“Our new vision is to make Scotland the premium choice for red meat across the globe. Ambitious and bold, it reflects both the passion we have for the red meat supply chain we work on behalf of and our belief in its potential.”

The strategy sets out how the industry body will work collaboratively to deliver authenticity and a competitive edge under its provenance pillar, with the Scotch brands evolving to project environmental credentials. New technology will improve traceability and, as a result, less red meat farmed and processed in Scotland will be sold as ‘British’ and an increased proportion of lamb will be sold with Scottish provenance.

QMS will focus on productivity and profitability by deepening relationships from a range of UK market channels, as well as targeting premium markets in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia to support exports and drive profitability.

Steps are also being taken to encourage more farmers to engage with the Monitor Farms Scotland Programme, helping to improve efficiency across the sector and promote diversification.

Finally, QMS will position Scotland on the global stage as the home of sustainably produced beef, lamb and pork. The organisation will also go further by introducing an emissions reduction programme.

Sarah Millar, chief executive at QMS, said: “Our aim is to make Scotland the choice for premium red meat, but we must be unwavering and commercial in our focus in order to achieve this.

“We know what success looks like. It will be an industry with greater confidence, with profitability and productivity at its heart, delivering a product high in demand, viewed by our key customers – here and overseas – as their premium red meat choice.”