Alliance general manager marketing, Peter Russell, NZ, said there has been an extremely positive response from chefs and the feedback from multiple taste panels shows the extra “good fats” really enhance succulence and eating quality.
“Te Mana Lamb is driving a whole new approach to lamb. We see it as heralding a re-birth of different lamb dishes and the reaffirmation of NZ as the home of the world’s best lamb. It is also an opportunity to increase the total value of lamb and the share of value captured in NZ,” he said.
“It is a luxury ingredient and priced at that level. In the marketplace, it has been compared with Wagyu beef, truffles and caviar for products which diners can justify paying a premium for.”
October 2016 saw a Te Mana Lamb dish win the silver medal in the Culinary Olympics in Germany.
Te Mana Lamb has been launched onto the menu of a limited number of premium restaurants in NZ and Hong Kong and is included in NZ’s award-winning home delivery service, My Food Bag.
Mr Russell said there has been some interest from Australia and they are actively considering options to serve this market.
