CONTACT: Melissa
Slagle 303-867-6306
mslagle@beefboard.org
Meat Cases Tell … The
Rest of the Story
Beef checkoff teams
up to conduct 2007
National Meat Case
Study.
(CENTENNIAL, Colo.)
– In 2007, The Beef
Checkoff teamed up with
Sealed Air’s Cryovac
Food Packaging and the
National Pork Board to
conduct an extensive
audit of the nation’s
retail meat cases.
Checkoff dollars helped
unfold the story in an
effort to understand how
meat cases are being
shaped and answer the
age old question: Is the
industry responding to
consumer desires, or are
those desires driving
what’s in the meat case?
The conclusion: both.
More than 120 retail
supermarkets and 10 club
stores were audited in
48 metro markets across
the country. Detailed
information from more
than 157,000 packages
representing over
281,000 pounds of meat
was captured to help
further understand the
growing transformation
seen in the retail meat
case over the last five
years.
“What checkoff dollars
aimed to accomplish
through this survey was
to help the
participating
organizations understand
what consumers are
seeing in the store and
what in-stock
information is, while
identifying trends to
help retailers meet
consumers’ needs,” says
Don Stewart, an importer
from Highland Park,
Ill., and chair of the
beef checkoff’s Joint
Retail Committee. “With
this knowledge, we can
help put more beef in
more grocery sacks and
as a result, on more
dinner tables.”
So what’s at the heart
of the meat case story?
Fresh meat’s share of
the case increased.
Growth of branded
programs for meat
increased while store
brands gained
predominance. Boneless
product interest also
grew – with whole muscle
beef having the largest
overall share.
Value-added packages
(products with
flavorings or
ingredients added)
continued to grow while
enhanced beef saw a
decline. While natural
and organic packages
remained a niche
category, their share
did grow.
The in-stock condition
for case-ready meats was
generally better.
Retailers also appear to
be finding it easier to
keep those items in
stock. Nutrition
labeling increased. The
retail trade appears to
be doing a better job of
reducing costly
out-of-stock conditions
on some of their
better-selling items. In
fact, this survey found
that only 2% of stores
didn’t have stew meat on
down to the improvement
seen in Boneless Top
Sirloin Steak where
out-of-stocks were cut
in half.
The survey also aimed at
identifying emerging
retail trends nationally
that could be used to
aid development of new
marketing applications
that might drive
incremental fresh meat
sales growth in the
coming years.
“Consumer information is
vital to help
communicate the many
benefits of today’s meat
products and ultimately
improve beef’s demand.
The checkoff recognizes
studies such as these as
benchmarks on consumer
trends then shares the
data with retailers in
an effort to assist them
in moving more beef off
the shelves,” adds
Stewart. “Along with new
technologies that help
enhance product
packaging and expand
shelf life, retailers
and producers are
actively staying in tune
with consumer needs. Not
only are we helping to
make the consumer buying
experience easier, but
furthering retailer
success and the future
of beef demand.”
And that’s the rest of
the meat case story.
For more information,
visit
www.beefretail.org
or
www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com.
The Beef Checkoff
Program was established
as part of the 1985 Farm
Bill. The checkoff
assesses $1 per head on
the sale of live
domestic and imported
cattle, in addition to a
comparable assessment on
imported beef and beef
products. States retain
up to 50 cents on the
dollar and forward the
other 50 cents per head
to the Cattlemen’s Beef
Promotion and Research
Board, which administers
the national checkoff
program, subject to USDA
approval.
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