Innovative Ways to Market Beef to Consumers

BELLEVUE, Wash.—New consumer research presented at the National Meat Association’s summer conference suggests the beef industry should think outside the box to promote beef’s lean protein attributes and easy ways to prepare it in order to reach a wider consumer audience.

As reported by Meatingplace, Washington State Beef Commission’s Executive Director Patti Brumbach presented the research that was conducted with beef checkoff dollars. Brumbach urged the industry to use newer marketing tactics such as social media to reach “Millennials" who are coming of age as consumers and want nutritional and preparation information.

She noted consumers associated beef as a source of lean protein and think of ground beef first when shopping for lean meat. She reported that consumers rate taste their No. 1 concern about beef, followed by good value, safety and consistency of quality. She also noted that in today’s fast-paced world, the beef industry needs to market how easily beef can be prepared, as well as how easy it is to divide into individual portions.

In her comments, she said the industry faces a challenge when it comes to consumer perception of sustainable practices because they are not familiar with how beef gets from the pasture to the plate.

“Consumers have a love/hate relationship with our product," she said, noting they love the taste but are concerns about saturated fat and sustainability. She said that 81 percent of consumers surveyed said they knew little to nothing about the beef industry and, therefore, should be careful not to let other interests fill in that information void,

via foodproductdesign.com

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