CANTON, PA: Veal USA, formed by US veal producers, is planning a
national campaign to promote veal consumption, and to answer concerns
about the treatment of veal calves.
"Animal welfare is one part of what we're trying to do, but we're also
trying to put back the glamour and the elegance of veal," said Laura
Vermeire, VP of marketing.
The campaign will be handled in-house, though Veal USA is considering
taking on agency help for a spring celebrity chef tour. Initial PR has
centered on distributing veal recipes to food editors at major
metropolitan dailies and gourmet magazines.
Past promotion efforts centered on the trade press, but the industry
believes it must now reach out directly to consumers. "Consumers just
don't think of veal anymore," said Vermeire.
Another leg of the PR campaign is creation of the Veal USA brand.
Producers will be able to use the brand mark on products meeting humane
animal-treatment requirements set by Veal USA.
Another component will be a conference of animal scientists to develop
worldwide standards for how calves raised for veal should be treated.
