As a category, bacon has historically performed well in Scotland with over 92 per cent of the Scottish population consuming bacon over the year. Most of this is in the form of rashers although bacon joints have seen slight growth in volume. Annual expenditure on total bacon in Scotland now stands at approximately £112 million - an increase of five per cent over the year.

The overall sausage category in Scotland is now worth £49million over the 52 weeks to 4th November 2007. Standard sausages rule the category with over 50 per cent of the market share. Following closely behind with growth of around 11 per cent year on year is the premium sausage category with approximately 38 per cent share. Economy, Low Fat and Microwavable product lines take up the rest of the sausage market.

Butchers strong

Scottish butchers remain strong in this sector with market share of fresh and loose sausages around 18 per cent . Overall, sausages are predominantly consumed at the weekend with Thursday, Friday and Saturday key shopping days for this category.

Scotland's butchers have a large share of the sausage market

Sliced Cooked Meats is the largest of the three categories in value terms. Worth approximately £140 million annually across all sliced meat varieties, the sector has seen growth in value of 4% year on year. Pigmeat is an important aspect of this sector - both ham and pork contribute approximately 49% of the overall Sliced Cooked Meats market share. Beef has around a five per cent share of the sliced cooked meats category with remaining share taken up by chicken, turkey and continental meat.

QMS has supported the Specially Selected Ham brand in recent months and continues to do so in the run up to Christmas. Our activities revolve around a tasting tour designed to encourage shoppers to try delicious home-produced Specially Selected Ham and Specially Selected Pork. QMS will continue to work with manufacturers of cooked product in the year ahead.

In addition to recent activities for Specially Selected Ham, QMS has been working alongside members of the Scotch Butchers Club to raise awareness of Specially Selected Pork, Scotch Lamb and Scotch Beef in the run up to Christmas. A national campaign for Specially Selected Pork will be taking place in the New Year with emphasis on our key messages of health and versatility.