Pivoting Ontario Veal Marketing Strategies During a Pandemic

Pivoting Ontario Veal Marketing Strategies During a Pandemic By Jennifer Haley, Executive Director, Veal Farmers of Ontario

There is no doubt that Covid-19 forced everyone to change their plans and programs quickly and adapt to the new realities of the marketplace. When the world shut down in mid-March, Veal Farmers of Ontario (VFO) was very concerned about what the impact this market disruption would have on veal processing and consumer consumption and in turn our supply chain. A very special thank you to all the veal processors and their employees who responded to the needs of consumers by keeping your plants operating at full capacity.

VFO’s popular marketing program- the Search for Ontario’s Best Veal Sandwich with our celebrity judge John Catucciwas postponed due to Covid-19 restrictions. It was a difficult decision to make given the momentum that this campaign has created, but the right one to make given the circumstances. To help support our sandwich partners, VFO quickly reached out to the restaurants to help them promote on social media their take-out and curbside pickup veal sandwiches.

With the shut-down of the foodservice, hospitality, and tourism sectors, VFO quickly worked on a targeted and ‘pivoted’ consumer marketing strategy aimed at getting consumers to purchase veal at retail- whether that was the local butcher or the grocery store- and cook more veal at home and work to ensure veal demand could be sustained.

VFO immediately activated its consumer e-newsletter Vealing Delicious, moving from a monthly to a weekly format to bring awareness for veal recipes. Thankfully, in January several new veal recipes and photos had been created for use on our website, newsletter, social media channels and promotions. This gave us lots of new content to feature at a very critical time with consumers. A tweak to our consumer logo gave a subtle new look to our consumer brand.

Some of the targeted Ontario Veal marketing strategies over the past few months have included:

#VealAtHome Contest VFO launched this social media contest and awareness campaign in mid-April with the goal of creating engagement with our online followers as well as providing an incentive to cook with veal at home. We wanted to create an opportunity for consumers to win prizes by showing us how they are cooking with veal at home and to be proud of their veal recipe creations. The contest features monthly prizes for each of our social media channels (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook as well as email entries) and a Grand Prize draw in September from all eligible entries. The campaign has certainly generated a lot of engagement and ‘buzz’ with consumers and their followers as well. The contest has also driven an increase in our website traffic and our #VealAtHome contest page.

Getting Veal on the BBQ with Ted Reader The BBQ season is traditionally veal’s lowest sales period of the year with consumers focusing on other proteins. VFO partnered with the ‘godfather of the grill’ Ted Reader to create a summer grilling campaign and leverage the BBQ enthusiasts who follow Ted on his social media channels. Ted generates a lot of engagement across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with his dedicated carnivore followers who love grilling meat!

The campaign featured a weekly Ontario Veal BBQ recipe, featuring various cuts of veal, created by Ted Reader and featured on his popular social media accounts and in VFO’s exciting Vealing Delicious e-newsletter that goes out to over 3,000 subscribers. The recipes have also been cross-posted to www.tedreader.com and www.ontariovealappeal.ca.

As a bonus, Ted has also promoted Ontario Veal on the BBQ during many of his media interviews including on camera with Breakfast Television, Global News and on the radio! Ted’s enthusiastic personality, combined with his mouthwatering veal recipes, has generated a lot of interest with both Ted’s and VFO’s followers.

Food & Drink Advertising Campaign With the cancellation of the Ontario’s Best Veal Sandwich contest, we were able to reallocate budget to a Food & Drink magazine advertising campaign. In ‘normal’ times, we certainly could not have done both activities with our limited budget, but this was an opportunity to connect with the veal consumer through this popular publicationthat has over 2 million readers per issue- in a very targeted approach. The first advertisement in the Summer edition focused on grilling veal recipes. The Fall edition’s theme is comfort foods and the Holiday edition will be focused on entertaining. Sizzling Summer B BQ Add a new kick to your kabobs with this easy and • 1 lb (454 g) veal stewing cubes or 1” (2.5 cm) pepper. Meanwhile, preheat grill (medium or in ovenproof skillet if broiling, so that surface of veal is 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 cm) from heat. Grill or broil 5 to 6 minutes per side for medium doneness. MEDITERRANEAN VEAL BURGERS

Find the recipe at ontariovealappeal.ca More recipes at ontariovealappeal.ca FoodNetwork.ca Campaign Another segment VFO wanted to target was the consumer who enjoys ordering popular veal dishes at their favourite restaurant. Our goal was to create interest in cooking veal at home like a chef- to demystify cooking with veal now that we all had more time to prepare and cook at home. Leveraging our partnership with John Catucci and his affiliation with Food Network Canada, VFO launched a new contest to encourage visits to our website as well as create new sign-ups for our e-newsletter. The contest offered some great prizes including Ontario Veal Appeal BBQ tools and kitchen gear, a new BBQ, fresh veal delivered to your home, as well as autographed copies of John Catucci’s You

CARIBBEAN VEAL KABOBS flavourful marinade perfect for cubed or stewing veal Ingredients • 1/2 cup (125 mL) pineapple juice concentrate • 2 tbsp (30 mL) each soy sauce and brown sugar • 1 tsp (5 mL) cumin • Pinch cayenne thick loin or round steaks, cut into cubes • Assorted vegetable or fruit chunks (i.e. peppers, zucchini, pineapple) Instructions Combine ingredients for your marinade. Pour over veal cubes; stir to coat. Let stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to 2 hours in the refrigerator for increased flavour. Soak wooden skewers in water 10 minutes to prevent burning. Thread marinated veal onto skewers, alternating with vegetable or fruit chunks. Broil or grill on barbecue at medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes turning once and brushing with extra marinade for first 5 minutes. Discard leftover marinade.

Makes 4 servings

Recipes with Ontario Veal

Chef Ted Reader (aka the Godfather of the Grill) offers three tips for grilling the perfect veal steak or chop. First, remove it from the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to grilling to allow the meat to warm up before hitting the grill. Second, sear the veal over high heat for approximately 3 to 5 minutes per side and be careful not to overcook it. Veal is best served rare to medium at most. Finally, allow the veal to rest for 5 to 10 minutes, this will help keep the precious juices inside resulting in a more tender, juicy steak. .

HERBED-GARLIC CHEESE STUFFED VEAL CHOPS This easy and elegant dish needs only 10 minutes of prep time and 10 minutes on the grill. Serve with a garden salad and a simple pasta dish made by tossing cooked bow-tie pasta with olive oil and fresh herbs.

Ingredients • 2 veal rib or loin chops, cut 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick • 1 tsp (5 mL) lemon pepper, divided • 2 tbsp (30 mL) herb-garlic flavoured soft cream cheese • Garnish: Fresh thyme, lemon rind and sage (optional)

Makes 2 servings Instructions Trim fat from meat. Using a sharp knife, cut a horizontal pocket through the centre of each chop. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 tsp (2 mL) lemon pepper with the cream cheese and mix well. Spoon filling into each pocket in the veal. Close pockets with small skewers or wooden picks. Sprinkle both sides of chop with remaining lemon high heat) or broiler. Place chops on grill,

Gotta Eat Here cookbook! Working with the esteemed FoodNetwork.ca team, VFO also curated a selection of veal recipes that were endorsed and created by popular Food Network chefs and hosts, and available online. The four-week campaign was launched on June 22nd and included geo-targeted display advertisements on www.FoodNetwork.ca, box advertisements in the Food Network’s e-newsletter, and inclusion in Food Network Canada social media boosted posts.

As we move into the Fall, we continue to build and adapt our consumer marketing programs so that we can remain flexible to respond to the changes in the marketplace. VFO is investigating opportunities to promote veal at retail with point of sale materials and partnering with keen veal retailers. If you are interested in learning more please reach out to us at 519-824-2942 or email me at jhaley@

livestockalliance.ca