Alliance Group’s coveted Pure South Handpicked 55 Day Aged Beef scooped the best grass-fed steak in the world at this week’s World Steak Challenge Awards ceremony in London. It also received a host of other accolades including; the world’s best ribeye steak, the standard gold medal for its ribeye and a silver for its fillet.
The Pure South Handpicked brand is produced from the finest heritage breeds in the world. Following a stringent selection process, each carcass is assessed and graded against a list of criteria that includes pH balance, fat colour and cover, marbling score and meat colour. Artisan butchers then age and mature the meat to create a range of grass-fed steak that consistently delivers world-class tenderness, succulence and flavour profiles.
Helen Scott, Regional General Manager at the Alliance Group, says: “We’re delighted to receive these globally recognised accolades. It was already a great honour to have won gold in the World Steak Challenge. But to have our steak judged, for its robust, zesty, buttery and creamy flavour, as the world’s best grass-fed steak and world’s best ribeye is outstanding.
“Just over five years ago, Alliance’s ambition to step up and become a world class grass-fed beef producer began. These awards are testament to everyone in the value chain’s pursuit of excellence and our farmers hard work, day in, day out to raise the best grass-fed meat in the world.”
The wins come following the UK-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which came into force in May of this year, removing tariffs on 97% of imported products and staging the removal of tariffs on beef and sheep meat imports, with no duties at all from 2038.
Helen Scott continues: “The Alliance Group is one of the largest exporters of red meat from New Zealand, producing free range and grass-fed beef, lamb and venison on their family farms.
“Our prime pasture-fed beef and farming methods in New Zealand are quite different to the intensive high-impact systems often used around the world. It is reared using our natural, low intervention farming techniques in a low stress environment, and is always grass-fed, resulting in meat that’s full of flavour, lean, tender and nutritious.”
Following the FTA, Alliance Group has increased its market share in the UK in both retail and foodservice and has ambition for further growth in 2024 with NPD aimed at the UK market. This includes a Pure South Handpicked beef launch across retail, foodservice and wholesale channels.