Q Guild, the trade association for independent UK butchers, has appointed Cheshire agency Souter PR to help take on the supermarket giants with a new campaign.

Q Guild members currently number 140 and serve £3million worth of meat and related products to over quarter a million UK consumers every week.

The initial 12 month PR campaign will include media relations, events, promotions, education and social media engagement to get a message of trust, knowledge and advice into communities across the country.

“Their efforts will be on making sure that the Q Guild is a well known measure of quality and a source of knowledge among consumers – nationally and locally - to help them make an informed choice when it comes to buying meat," said Q Guild chairman Philip Cranston.

Souter said it would be looking to enlist a wide range of supporters for the campaign including celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott, who is currently running a joint cous cous/BBQ meat promotion with members.

Other activity in the pipeline includes the annual Smithfield’s Awards in London in November where Q Guild’s butchers battle for supremacy in sausage, pie and speciality products.

MD Sue Souter commented: “This is about raising consumer awareness by making butchers real and writ large in their communities, keeping members happy because their customer base is growing, and challenging the supermarkets a bit.

"We can’t compete on budget, but we can on knowledge, heritage and commitment to quality. Nobody can match a Q Guild butcher for that.”