The Jamie Oliver range of extra matured beef has been launched into Sainsbury's stores this week.
The meat, which has been matured on the bone for 21 days, and features four joints and five steaks, will be available in 400 stores in specially developed pre-packs and 130 stores on the serveover counters.
Louise Warner-Jones, trading manager for meat, said the retailer was also now considering developing similar ranges in pork and poultry. "It's in the planning stages but we're hoping to develop it with Jamie."
In the meantime, the steak range has been extended to five with the inclusion of a minute steak which will be supported with a new Jamie Oliver advert, featuring a recipe for the meat, airing from July 9.
Warner-Jones said the range was developed over a two-year period alongside Oliver: "The aim was to replicate good quality matured beef, the kind of thing you can get in specialist butchers or good restaurants, but do it on a national scale."
She said the retailer faced a lot of challenges, from storing the meat whilst the maturation process took place to creating the right packaging to ensure the product reached the consumer in an optimum condition.
She said: "The packaging is very different, it works on a vacuum seal, and each product has a different recipe from Jamie Oliver on the back."
She said she now expected the rest of the meat industry and competing retailers to follow in their footsteps. "We'd welcome that. What we've done with this meat is pushing the quality up a notch."
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The meat, which has been matured on the bone for 21 days, and features four joints and five steaks, will be available in 400 stores in specially developed pre-packs and 130 stores on the serveover counters.
Louise Warner-Jones, trading manager for meat, said the retailer was also now considering developing similar ranges in pork and poultry. "It's in the planning stages but we're hoping to develop it with Jamie."
In the meantime, the steak range has been extended to five with the inclusion of a minute steak which will be supported with a new Jamie Oliver advert, featuring a recipe for the meat, airing from July 9.
Warner-Jones said the range was developed over a two-year period alongside Oliver: "The aim was to replicate good quality matured beef, the kind of thing you can get in specialist butchers or good restaurants, but do it on a national scale."
She said the retailer faced a lot of challenges, from storing the meat whilst the maturation process took place to creating the right packaging to ensure the product reached the consumer in an optimum condition.
She said: "The packaging is very different, it works on a vacuum seal, and each product has a different recipe from Jamie Oliver on the back."
She said she now expected the rest of the meat industry and competing retailers to follow in their footsteps. "We'd welcome that. What we've done with this meat is pushing the quality up a notch."
{{MARKET EDGE }}
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