A new Primary Growth Partnership or PGP will examine consumers' appetite for healthier more nutritious New Zealand lamb and innovative new lamb-based products.
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The seven year joint project will be carried out by New Zealand's largest lamb exporter Alliance Group, the Ministry for Primary Industries and Headwaters Group.
General Manager of Marketing at Alliance Group Murray Brown said the programme was a key part of the co-operative's drive to move away from commodity production and target ''new wealth'' markets with higher value products.
"We're really trying to take the product out of the commodity sector and we've been doing a lot of work in terms of developing the high health lamb. We believe health is a really strong attribute for the future that consumers are demanding around the world.
"People are very much more conscious of what they eat and there's a lot more information about diet and nutritional information and we believe lamb sits very well in that space.
"And this particular lamb we believe is going to be beneficial for diets in selected markets at the top end and we are really trying to lift the game for all our co-op members for the future, that we put lamb in that high added value space in retail and service sectors."