It was on a wet night back in January when a cousin of my father’s told us the following story.

The local farming organisation had asked him to speak at our annual social event, which is typically held before people get busy with calving and lambing in spring.

A nice crowd was gathered in the back lounge of the local pub that night; what with the father’s cousin being from a nearby village and having done very well for himself. He told several interesting and humorous stories, but it was this one about the importance of having a brand that was perhaps the most insightful.

The story began in the mid-1980s when he was involved in something of a turf war between three rival crème liqueurs in America.

In blind taste tests, consumers easily picked out the one they did not like, but they could not tell the difference between the other two. That is, they both tasted nigh on the same. The unpopular one was not really a competitor then, leaving the almost identical ones to slug it out.

One of these crème liqueurs, however, had been advertised heavily and a huge effort was put into developing its brand. It retailed at $18 a bottle and despite its similar-tasting rival costing a mere $12, the branded product sold 40,000 cases per month while the cheaper one struggled to move 10,000 in the same period.

The cousin stated with authority that people were not just buying a crème liqueur. They were buying an experience and also perhaps a status symbol.

No one wanted to be seen serving the lower-priced product, and they were happy to pay more for the better branded version. We can only assume they perceived it as better value than the cheaper alternative.

It was with this story in the back of my mind that I decided to try creating a brand for the spring lamb we will produce this year, the idea being to sell directly to restaurants in our area.

If our product, together with our values, nature-friendly methods and general ethos towards farm life help restaurants sell more lamb, then we will both be winners.

Living business card

The inevitable Facebook page, Sliabh Radharc Lamb, has been set up and I will use it to share the pictures and stories of lamb production over the coming months. This page will be a living business card, with our contact details and background information quickly and easily available to our future customers.

I have also met with the Local Enterprise Office, where I received some valuable advice and a number of contacts within the sector.

The last few weeks and months have exposed just how dependent farmers are on the same old routes to market. What has such loyalty returned to farmers, apart from prices that are below the cost of production and shoulder-shrugging disregard from factories’ management?

It is time to create alternative routes to the consumer. Developing a brand and selling direct might not be for everyone. But it is certainly possible for more farmers than are currently engaged in this route. As with everything, only time will tell if we are successful in our attempts. One thing is for sure though, we will not die wondering.