Shropshire Farming Talk: How recipe development boosts pork’s appeal to consumers

It’s about designing dishes that fit different demographics, dietary needs, and food trends. 

This work presents pork as flexible and nutritious, a lean protein that can suit a variety of tastes and occasions.

In collaboration with our marketing and export teams, detailed briefs outlining the specific cuts to feature, target audiences, and budgets. 

These briefs are driven by in-depth market research that highlights what consumers are looking for, like quick, budget-friendly, and familiar meals. With many people now looking for simple, easy-to-make recipes that pair well with appliances like air fryers, we aim to develop recipes that suit this preference for convenience.

Our approach to recipe design emphasises simplicity and accessibility. 

Most recipes feature fewer than ten ingredients, based on research showing that complicated recipes or hard-to-find ingredients can be off-putting. 

Streamlined steps further improve user-friendliness, making preparation and cleanup quick and easy. For midweek meals, we prioritise using familiar ingredients so consumers don’t need to buy specialty items they might not use again.

Nutritional considerations are also a key part of our development process. Each recipe is assessed to ensure it meets government standards on fat, salt, and sugar, positioning pork as a healthy protein choice. 

Recipes go through an initial testing phase, followed by tasting and preparation trials with diverse consumer groups to ensure they’re practical, flavourful, and well-suited to home cooks’ needs.

Once recipes meet these standards, we move to the styling and photography phase, where our food stylists and photographers create images that inspire consumers to add pork to their meal plans. 

These visuals support events, campaigns, and educational efforts. 

Additionally, we share recipes through social media, using engaging formats like reels to reach younger audiences, including Gen Z.

This directly benefits levy payers by driving demand, expanding market share, and giving consumers the opportunity to consider pork a staple in their weekly meals.

by Denise Spencer-Walker, Food Communications Manager at AHDB