A brand new lower-carbon Irish beef range has been officially unveiled on Tesco shelves, and launched by Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon and Tesco CEO, Geoff Byrne. Developed by Tesco in partnership with Kepak, the product carbon footprints of the Bright Meat Company range are independently verified by the Carbon Trust. The range, available exclusively in Tesco stores and online, offers an extensive new selection of Irish beef products combining excellent quality and taste with carbon footprint transparency.
The product carbon footprint of the Bright Meat Company range has been shown to be up to 23 percent lower than other equivalent Irish beef meat cuts or finished products*. The introduction of this range is a direct response to growing consumer demand for lower-carbon food choices and is a first-to-market launch in Irish retail.
While research consistently shows shoppers care about sustainability, the primary drivers of purchase decisions remain taste, quality, and value. The Bright Meat Company range bridges that gap, delivering great tasting Irish beef with lower-carbon product footprints than other market comparators, which are both credible and easy to understand for customers.
The Bright Meat Company range is supplied through the Twenty20 Beef Club, a producer group of Irish farmers supplying cattle through Kepak’s and Tirlán’s integrated beef supply chain. Through the Twenty20 programme, farmers are supported to adopt more sustainable farming practices that help reduce environmental impact while maintaining high standards of animal welfare and beef quality. This fully traceable farm-to-fork approach gives consumers confidence that the beef they are buying has been responsibly produced by trusted Irish family farms committed to a more sustainable future for food production.
Working with the internationally recognised Carbon Trust footprint label, the product carbon footprint of individual Bright Meat Company products has been independently verified against equivalent Irish beef meat cuts or finished products *. This means shoppers can see verified ‘lower-than’ claims on pack, helping them to make more informed choices with confidence.
Geoff Byrne, CEO Tesco Ireland and Northern Ireland, said: “At Tesco, we know our customers want food that delivers on taste, quality, and value, but they also want to understand the impact of the choices they make. The new Bright Meat Company range offers customers excellent quality Irish products they can feel good about putting into their baskets. We are committed to collaborating with farmers, supply chain partners, and independent experts to support more sustainable food choices as we work towards our ambition to be net zero across the value chain by 2050.”
Minister Martin Heydon, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine added: “This initiative demonstrates how collaboration across farming, processing and retail underpinned by independent verification by the Carbon Trust can successfully lead to lower carbon footprints, while maintaining the high standards for quality that Irish beef is known for. Promotion of sustainable food can hugely benefit Ireland, as a food producer, into the future.”
Brian Tormey CEO of Kepak added: “Achieving independent certification from the Carbon Trust is an important milestone for Kepak and reflects the work being done across our business and supply chain to build a more sustainable and resilient beef production model. It is important that we continue to work collaboratively with farmers, customers, Tirlán and our other industry partners to deliver measurable progress in a practical and commercially sustainable way. We see this as another step in strengthening the long-term competitiveness and credibility of our beef.”
Tiph Aries, Associate Director Agriculture, Food & Drink, Carbon Trust said "As scrutiny of environmental claims increases, it can be tempting for organisations to pull back from talking about their climate action. But consumers still want clear, trustworthy information – and that's exactly what this verification delivers. By independently verifying the carbon product footprints of the Bright Meat Company range, we're helping communicate in a way shoppers can recognise and trust at the point of purchase."
