The key objective of the Scotland-wide campaign, which ran between May and July, was to increase awareness of the logo by target consumer groups in Scotland in order to encourage consumption and increase market share of branded product.

The campaign adopted the tagline “When it comes to taste, it’s all about the label“ which communicates the benefits of purchasing Specially Selected Pork and provides a compelling reason for the shopper to look for the label at point of purchase.

Looking at pre and post campaign figures, a considerable increase of 61% of shoppers compared to 49 per cent agreed Specially Selected Pork is produced to “higher standards“ and 46 per cent compared to 37 per cent agreed the Specially Selected Pork label represents a product with “higher animal welfare“.

The number of shoppers agreeing that the label is the “best available“ increased to 42 per cent compared to 35 per cent and encouragingly, in a time when household budgets are continuing to be squeezed, the number of shoppers who claim that they would pay more for the product rose to 39 per cent from 33 per cent.

Uel Morton, Chief Executive of Quality Meat Scotland, described the success of the Specially Selected Pork campaign as “very encouraging“.

“The Scottish pig industry is without doubt enduring a period of uncertainty and this record awareness of the quality of pork produced in Scotland is a very positive signal for our farmers.

“The survey results also show that consumers are recognising the commitment of our industry to high standards of welfare. The Scottish pig industry works very closely with Scotland’s leading animal charity, the Scottish SPCA. Indeed our development of the ‘Specially Selected Pork Approved by the Scottish SPCA’ label was a ground-breaking initiative.

“In recent weeks our industry has taken further strides forward with the announcement of the first apprentices in the new Scottish Pig Academy and several major retailers have increased their commitment to sourcing and clearly labelling Specially Selected Pork.“

This year’s campaign was supported by QMS’s “Get Behind The Label“ advertising activity which covers all three brands – Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork.

Fife pig farmer Andrew Peddie and his son Craig featured in the Specially Selected Pork section of the campaign which highlights that pork carrying the Specially Selected Pork label guarantees the traceability of the meat from farm to fork, ensuring it was born, reared and slaughtered in Scotland.