The Canadian Lamb Producers Co-operative (CLPC) is set to start buying finished lambs this spring and launch a new marketing arm, dubbed the Canadian Lamb Company, this month.
The co-operative, the first-ever federally incorporated national co-op, will own and oversee the Canadian Lamb Co. as its corporate marketing subsidiary.
Four years in the making, the co-operative plans to build its Canadian Lamb Co. brand to the point where it replaces the New Zealand and Australian brands as the brand and sector leader in lamb products sold in Canada.
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“Our plan is to start small and ramp up,” CEO Terry Ackerman said at a recent information session hosted by the Manitoba Sheep Association.
Imports of Australian and New Zealand lamb today dominate the industry with a 58 per cent market share. Sales of imported lamb in the past nine months have risen 20 per cent — roughly the equivalent of 20,000 lambs.
The market is growing steadily, mainly due to the 40,000 immigrants each year who “eat lamb like you eat beef,” Ackerman said.
“Every study out there says they want Canadian products. Now we just have to figure out how to make you enough money so you can expand your flock.”
CLICK HERE to read Daniel Winters’ article from the Manitoba Co-operator.
