Karoo Meridian — Marketing & Export Strategy
The marketing and export strategy - the buyer channels, the wool auction and lamb export routes and the pricing approach underpinning Karoo Meridian.
Section 7 · Business Plan
Marketing & Export Strategy
The marketing and export strategy – the buyer channels, the wool auction and lamb export routes and the pricing approach underpinning Karoo Meridian.
7.1 Domestic strategy
Domestic wool marketing runs through the established broker-auction
system, where quality, preparation standards and certification determine
price relative to the indicator. Meat marketing targets premium
wholesalers, retail chains and high-end butcheries on consistency of
carcass weight and grading, with the traceability story as
differentiator. Stud marketing is reputation-led: production auctions,
breed society participation, performance-test publication and field
days.
7.2 Export strategy
| Region | Product | Channel & requirement |
|---|---|---|
| China | Fine wool | Broker/exporter contracts; FMD-clean status critical; certified clip preferred |
| Italy / EU | Fine certified wool | Direct mill relationships; sustainability documentation |
| UAE | Chilled/frozen lamb | Halaal certification; approved export abattoir; cold chain |
| Saudi Arabia | Halaal lamb | SFDA registration; Halaal audit trail |
| Qatar | Premium lamb cuts | High-spec retail programmes |
| Africa (SADC+) | Breeding stock | Veterinary export protocols; genetics marketing |
7.3 Certification and brand assets
- Sustainable wool certification for the full clip by Year 3
(targeting the R7–10/kg certified premium observed at auction) - Halaal certification and DALRRD export accreditation via partner
abattoirs from Year 2 - Full RFID paddock-to-port traceability as the core brand promise
to export buyers - A branded lamb programme in Phase 3 once volume and consistency
support retail programmes
Export launch in Year 2 is achievable for wool (the auction system is
export-native) but ambitious for meat: Halaal certification, export
abattoir slots and destination-market registration commonly take 12–24
months. A six-month slip in meat export activation would defer roughly
R7–8m of Year 2 revenue. The DSCR analysis in Section 13 shows Year 2
already at 0.85x; funders should size the interest reserve for this
scenario.
7.4 Offtake and contracting strategy
Bankability improves materially with contracted revenue. The
Company’s target offtake structure at Year 3 is: 40–50% of the wool clip
forward-contracted or committed to exporter programmes (the certified
clip is the contractable portion; the balance rides the auction for
price discovery); 60% of export lamb under annual frame agreements with
two GCC importers with quarterly pricing collars; 100% of feedlot
throughput scheduled against abattoir slots contracted twelve months
forward; and stud/breeding sales uncontracted by nature. These
instruments will be ceded to lenders as security, and the DSCR presented
in Section 12.5 should be read alongside them: contracted cover of even
35–40% of revenue transforms the ramp-period credit story.
| Revenue line | Contractable share by Y3 | Instrument | Security value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wool — certified | 40–50% | Forward contracts / exporter programmes | Cession; verifiable vs weekly indicator |
| Lamb — domestic | 50–60% | Retail & wholesale frame agreements | Cession of receivables |
| Lamb — export | 60% | GCC annual frames, quarterly collars | LC-backed; strongest instrument |
| Breeding stock / stud | 0–10% | Auction by design | Track-record based, not contractable |
| By-products | 80% | Skins/oddments standing offtake | Modest but stable |
7.5 Channel volume targets
Marketing effort is budgeted against explicit channel volume targets,
reviewed quarterly by the board against actuals — the discipline that
converts a marketing strategy into a management instrument.
| Channel | Y2 target | Y5 target | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wool auction (greasy, t) | 65 | 95 | Wool Director |
| Wool forward/certified programmes (t) | 7 | 35 | Wool Director |
| Domestic lamb — wholesale/retail (carcasses) | 9,500 | 19,000 | Sales Manager |
| Export lamb — GCC (carcasses) | 1,800 | 6,500 | Export Director |
| Breeding stock — domestic (head) | 900 | 2,600 | Operations Director |
| Breeding stock — African export (head) | 150 | 700 | Export Director |
| Stud auction (rams + stud ewes, head) | – | 420 | CEO / Stud Master |
Confidential — this business plan is provided to prospective investors and lenders for evaluation purposes only and may not be reproduced or distributed without the written consent of Karoo Meridian Wool & Livestock (Pty) Ltd.