LONDON – Alliance, New Zealand’s largest farming co-operative, is selling its Silere Alpine Merino lamb products via Ocado, a leading online supermarket in the United Kingdom.
Boneless leg joint, extra trimmed rack, lamb lion fillets and boneless rump currently are available under the co-op’s Pure South product brand. The items are packaged in a plastic-free and recyclable outer food pouch. Listings of the lamb products on Ocado provide the Pure South brand exposure to 680,000 customers that are active on the site.
“Ocado is a formidable online grocery channel, and we are delighted at the new listings created through a partnership with Hilton Food Solutions,” said Donna Smith, regional general manager for Alliance UK.
Huntingdon, England-based Hilton Food Group operates three meat packing plants and a fully automated warehousing system that delivers raw product to the packing plants. Michael Robinson, business development director at Hilton Food Solutions, said, “We are very pleased to partner with Alliance and bring the Ocado customer a unique offering which highlights the highest standards of taste, welfare and heritage.”
In addition to the co-op’s partnership with Hilton Foods Group, Alliance launched a line of lamb and venison products cooked using sous-vide. Offered under the group’s Pure South brand in the UK, cuts include lamb henry, shoulder rack, lamb shank, lamb ribs, pulled lamb, lamb rump and diced venison.
“We are always looking for new ways to develop and expand our offering,” said Tomas Walsh, national account manager for Alliance. “Our precise sous-vide cooking method allows us to flawlessly replicate recipes, time and time again and takes the work away from the chef. By using computerized monitoring systems, accurate temperatures and cooking times we have produced a time-efficient product to support UK chefs. They can spend less time in preparation and assembly and more time on presentation.”