FY 2014
a n n u a l r e p o r t
American Lamb Board Mission To increase the value of American Lamb for all segments contributing to the American Lamb Checkoff Program.
Strategic Initiatives• Increase consumer awareness about the benefits of American Lamb and influence consumers to increase their purchase frequency
• Minimize the volatility of seasonal sales and encourage year-round utilization of the whole carcass
• Maintain and expand market share in traditional foodservice and retail markets
• Build new markets/new customers
• Protect and enhance the image and credibility of lamb and the American Lamb industry
• Gather research data and evaluate programs
American Lamb Board Vision A unified, thriving American Lamb industry that concentrates its resources around a prioritized and measurable plan that fosters the opportunity for profitability for all contributors.
Promotion $1,608,753
Research $346,949
Communications $332,589
USDA $52,859
Administration $174,101
Total Expenses $2,515,251
Your Board Dan Lippert,
Chairman
Ben Lehfeldt, Vice Chairman
Cody Hiemke, Secretary
Butch Theos, Treasurer
Greg Ahart
Reed Anderson
Antonio Manzanares
Joanne Nissen
Wes Patton
Diane Peavey
Jim Percival
Betty Sampsel
Leo Tammi
Dale Thorne
Your StaffMegan Wortman,Executive Director
Rae Maestas,Program Manager
Tyler Winograd,Marketing Coordinator
For copies of the complete audited financial report, visit www.lambcheckoff.com.
2014 Financials
3515 S. Tamarac Drive Suite 130
Denver, CO 80237
866.327.LAMB (5262)
www.americanlamb.com
Letter From The Chairman
Trying to share everything that the
American Lamb Board (ALB) has been working on this past year makes my head spin, and would make this report incredibly long. To sum it up: we have seen historic collaboration within the industry, with intense focus on very specific steps that can lead to the kind of future we all want for our families, our businesses and our industry as a whole.
The best way to summarize what happened with your support is a top 10 list of the ALB’s 2014 achievements:
• A new city—Austin, Texas—was added to the wildly successful Lamb Jam Tour
• We’ve seen significant progress in sheep industry collaboration
• We unveiled a new logo and branding for the American Lamb Board; check out www.americanlamb.com
• A new ethnic marketing toolkit helped target the growing Hispanic and Muslim markets
• We supported the installation of electronic grading in three major lamb plants
• We debuted an easy, approachable “Curriculamb” campaign with new recipes and videos
• We kicked off the first promotions in the Middle East for American Lamb
• We conducted a direct marketing study
• We funded a lamb quality audit and demand study
• We’ve enjoyed the continued support of our industry partners
We take seriously the trust placed in the board by the entire sheep industry, and target the resources you provide for maximum long-term gains. Many of the new initiatives were promoted by the roadmap committees, where people from across the industry—from producers and packers, seed stock suppliers and sheep shearers, to researchers and retailers—put their heads together. We have collectively charted a course to achieve something that has eluded us for decades: genuine growth in the sheep business. I’m convinced that with this shared vision, and the shared heavy lifting that follows, we will succeed.
Thank you for your continued financial support of the American Lamb Board—it makes our efforts in research, promotion and information gathering possible. Just as importantly, thank you for your input and involvement, which ensures our collective efforts are on track.
Best,Dan Lippert
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6 New easy and approachable
“Curriculamb” campaign, including new recipes
and videos
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5 Electronic Grading—supporting
technology in three plantsn o
Direct Marketing Study
Quality Audit and
Demand Study10 >>>
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Support for a plan to expand the use of NSIP/genetics
Year in Review2014 was a year of progress, partnership and new programs. Thanks to continued industry support and the assessment increase the American Lamb Board has expanded their role beyond traditional marketing and promotions to help support additional industry needs and priorities. We not only continue to promote American Lamb but also work to support the industry through the roadmap initiatives and strategies,
highlighted here in this top 10 list. 7First US Meat Export Federation (USMEF)
promotions in the Middle East
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New Market: Austin, Texas1
Roadmap Progress
Ethnic Marketing Toolkit
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alb’sThe
top
list...
*Datassentials study
Lamb is the fastest-grow
ing protein on chain menus*
The ALB distributed six seasonal national recipe releases, resulting in
2,000 placements that reached more than 300 million consumers*all statistics according to a new consumer usage and attitude study
More than 50% of consumers would be
willing to pay a premium for American Lamb
71% of consumers would prefer to
purchase American Lamb over imported
Bon Appétit’s article “15 Foods College Students Should Try” ranked lamb as number nine with a callout to “Do yourself a flavor favor and swap out beef for lamb”
Locally sourced meat and seafood was cited as the number one trend on the National Restaurant Association’s “What’s Hot in 2014” chef survey
Lamb pounds sold at retail increased more than 6% in FY 2014 compared to FY 2013
LAMB6% Central
Market Retail Promotion in Austin, Texas, increased lamb sales by 60%
60%
The ALB distributed over 50 holiday
lamb packages to top food editors
for ewe
The ALB partnered with bloggers to promote American Lamb for
summer grilling; the blog posts reached more than
450,000 consumers
LAMB
American Lamb NYC media tour met with five top foodie publications: Bon Appétit,
Epicurious, Food & Wine, Good Housekeeping and Saveur
Building Preference for American Lamb*
On fine dining menus, 22% of operators specify domestic lamb on their menu compared to only 9% of
operators that specify imported
Building Awareness and Demand for Lamb
1#
American Lamb Around the Country
Austin• Food & Wine Festival• Food Bloggers Conference
Kansas CityFarm Broadcasters
IndianapolisTaste of Indiana Farms
HamiltonDine Around
College StationNAMA
Louisville• FFA• Kentucky State Fair
JeffersonWisconsin Sheep and Wool FestivalHuron
SD BBQ Championships
Fargo• NDSU BBQ Bootcamp• Fargo Fiber & Art Festival
CharlestonChefs Collaborative
RembertOld McCaskill Farm Day & Cooking Competition
NYC• International Restaurant & Foodservice Show• Media tour
Rhinebeck• New York State Sheep and Fiber FestivalDenver
Chef Summit
LafayettePeach Festival (Lamb Booth)
MeekerMeeker Classic
IdahoTrailing of the Sheep Festival
SacramentoNLFA Leadership School
HumboldtHumboldt County Fair
Menlo ParkSunset Magazine Luncheon
SonomaWine Country Big Q
Seattle• Street Food Festival• Shepherd to Chef Media Dinner• Food and Wine Experience• Lamb Jam
The American Lamb Board works to build awareness about American
Lamb across the country by participating in conferences and
events targeting chefs, distributors, consumers, media and retailers.
San Luis ObispoSavor the Central Coast (Lamb Jam Masters)
Boston• Media Dine Around—20 local food writers, 3 chefs, a butcher and a shepherd• Industry Field Day—30 chefs touring lamb farm• Red, White and Ewe Lamb Cookout• Taste of the Nation, Portland, ME• Gourmet Tailgating Class• Boston Restaurant Week Promotion• Lamb Jam
San Francisco• Eat. Drink. SF• Eat Real Fest• Lamb Jam
Loudoun CountyFarm Tour
Patrick SpringsLambstock ChesapeakeWaterways Heritage Festival
ChicagoWomen Chefs & Restaurateurs
WaterlooSouthern Illinois Sheep and Craft Tour
ColfaxIowa Sheep & Wool Festival
FlorenceHandy Music Festival
DC• DC Food Fight• Sips and Supper• Lamb Jam• James Beard Dinners
Frederick, MDFrederick County in the Streets Festival
RingoesGarden State Sheep Breeders Sheep Festival
SalemOregon State Fair
BrownsvilleWillamette Music Festival
MercerMercer County Fair & Farm Tour
WaynesburgWaynesburg Sheep & Fiber Festival
Ohio• Cincinnati Local Lamb Jam• Columbus Local Lamb Jam
Expanding Our Reach with Key Partners
The ALB plays a key role in many research projects throughout the year that benefit the industry.
Quality audit: Funded an audit to benchmark lamb-quality issues; results will be available in 2015
Nutritional analysis: Grain- and grass-fed lamb retail cuts are being analyzed to update the US lamb nutritional data
Supporting electronic grading: Co-funded the installation of electronic grading systems in three of the largest lamb packing plants in the US
NSIP Re-Launch Project: Funded work to design a plan to increase awareness of NSIP as an improved genetic tool and to increase use of the technology
Developed relationships with five new chef Lambassadors and secured 10 new chef-developed recipes and representation at events across the country
Enjoyed our eighth year of collaborating with the Tri-Lamb Group on the Nutrition Education Campaign
Partnered with J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines for a hot summer grilling promotion: American Lamb coupon and recipe on J. Lohr wine bottles in grocery stores in five markets throughout the summer
The Tri-Lamb Group co-hosted an exclusive event in New York City with the National Mango Board to launch a new health-focused cookbook, Eating in Color. Over 25 top-tier food and nutrition editors and writers attended and sampled lamb recipes.
Supporting Research, Education and Industry Roadmap Initiatives
Demand study: Updated to track the progress of the American Lamb Board’s programs
Targeting a diverse consumer base: Created a toolkit to help industry and retailers merchandise lamb to Muslim and Hispanic consumers
Marketing Advisory Council: Created a new group to improve collaboration with industry suppliers
Direct marketing study: Conducted a study to better understand direct/non-traditional lamb marketing and assess the needs of this growing sector in our industry; results will help the ALB develop relevant tools and resources to help support direct marketers
Expanding Usage of American Lamb
Other highlights from the digital world:
The American Lamb Board:
Developed 12 new simple consumer recipes and four new cooking technique videos
Created a “Curriculamb” campaign and collateral to drive messages about education
Hosted an educational lamb seminar and farm tours in four markets
Hosted a chef summit to explore uses of lamb and mutton
Lamb menu items beyond the rack and beyond the center of the plate are increasing**Datassentials
Social/digital followers: 2013 vs. 2014
Facebook:8,900 vs. 12,600
Twitter:2,400 vs. 3,400
Number of people who visited www.americanlamb.com
more than2 million
Number of followers for the ALB’s new Instagram account500
Number of consumers reached by Facebook ads 700,000
Promotions with various restaurant groups led to more than 22,000 American Lamb dishes served during the promotions
22,000
More than 6,000 chefs and more than 20,000 consumers received educational quarterly American Lamb newsletters
The ALB reached more than 5,000 foodservice buyers, restaurateurs, chefs and culinary educators at various events and conferences
$80,000+ raised in ticket sales
$5,000 donated to local charities$
64 chefs created innovative lamb dishes
50+ local partners and sponsors helped make the tour a success
4 cities + local chefs + butchers + local shepherds + local media + consumers = lamb extravaganza
2,000 consumers participated in Lamb Jam
Highlights from the Fifth Annual
The ALB provides valuable services and programs to the industry.
Helping the Industry Promote American Lamb
Funded 32 local lamb events and promotions across the US through the Industry Sponsorship Program
AlabamaCaliforniaColorado
IllinoisIndianaIowa
KentuckyMaryland
MassachusettsMontana
New Jersey
New YorkNorth Dakota
OhioOregon
PennsylvaniaSouth CarolinaSouth Dakota
TexasUtah
VirginiaWisconsin
Through the ALB Supplier Co-op Program, six supplier
partnerships accounted for an additional $140,015 in shared American Lamb promotions
Over 50,000 recipe brochures distributed
for industry events
Industry partners can track market trends
through Quarterly Market News and Quarterly Fresh
Look Retail Sales Data
Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Checkoff Program
Texas A&M conducted an ROI study to measure the overall effectiveness of the American Lamb Checkoff and the return on investment by sector. The results:
$
= $14.40For every dollar invested into the ALB (2002–2013),
the industry received $14.40 in additional profits
American Lamb, from pasture to plate.
866.327.LAMB (5262) // www.americanlamb.com
About the American Lamb BoardThe American Lamb Board (ALB) is an industry-funded research and promotions commodity board that represents all sectors of the American Lamb industry, including producers, feeders, seed stock producers and processors. The 14-member board, appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture, is focused on increasing demand by promoting the freshness, flavor, nutritional benefits and culinary versatility of American Lamb. The work of the ALB is overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the board’s programs are supported and implemented by the staff in Denver, Colorado.