Cumbrian Salt Marsh Lamb experienced in the landscape of the litoral:Local consumer perceptions of quality

Rodriguez, Gillian orcid iconORCID: 0000-0003-2355-4295 (2018) Cumbrian Salt Marsh Lamb experienced in the landscape of the litoral:Local consumer perceptions of quality. In: Livestock, Environment and People (LEAP), 07/11/2018, St Anne's College, Oxford University.

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Abstract

Cumbrian Salt Marsh Lamb experienced in the landscape of the littoral: local consumer perceptions of quality
Gillian Rodriguez, University of Central Lancashire
Food brands offer a myriad of attributes to promote to consumers, some scientific such as omega 3 fatty acid content, some psychological “it roams free”. Unlike branded meat which celebrates the breed of animal, such as Aberdeen Angus beef, or Herdwick lamb, it is the terrain and its flora, which define the quality of salt-marsh lamb and production depends upon a variety of breeds. Many categories of attribute can contribute to the development of a food brand. However, certain embedded food products feature such a strong association with the landscape they are a feature of the ‘lifescape’ of local inhabitants (Convery et al., 2004). In order to develop a credible brand, to be sold by locals to visitors the brand development process needs to be informed by local perceptions of Cumbrian salt marsh lamb (CSML) in the landscape.
Twenty soft-laddering interviews with residents of the locale of salt-marsh lamb production facilitated the process of means end chain analysis to elicit a hierarchy of cognitive associations.
Results showed that like other regional products CSML facilitates networks of trust and community participation. The vision of CSML in the landscape added to place appreciation, the qualities of the saline environment and accompanying specific fauna were thought by some to influence the flavour.
The environment of production also provoked reflections on time, stress-free conditions and food rituals, to tides and to qualities of ‘Englishness’. Analysis of responses found valuable non-food centred considerations for brand development of CSML.
Theoretical implications of the findings indicate the potential value of a new “pre-product” experience attribute. Whilst practical findings require local events, participation and education to ensure a local entrenchment of brands.


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