Feed Lot Magazine Online, Beef Case Gets New Look -- Is Now Organized by Method of Cooking to Make Consumer Desicions Easier

Volume VII Number 4

August 1999

Beef Case Gets New Look -- Is Now Organized by Method of Cooking to Make Consumer Desicions Easier

Many consumers are intimidated by the beef section of the meat case. Ask time-pressed consumers to find a Beef Chuck Shoulder Pot Roast Boneless in their supermarket, and they'll likely respond with a blank stare. Ask them how to cook it, and they'll head for the nearest exit.

Not good news for America's beef producers or supermarket retailers, whose meat department sales are based largely on the success of the beef section. The beef industry, through the use of beef checkoff dollars, plans to grow retail beef sales--and give retailers a competitive edge--with a new campaign that takes the guesswork out of shopping for and preparing fresh beef: Beef Made Easy.

After four years of category and consumer research, the beef industry found that consumers think first and foremost about meals and how to prepare them.

To better meet consumer demands, the industry's new Beef Made Easy campaign reorganizes the fresh beef section by cooking method. Color-coded merchandising tools direct shoppers to the types of beef dishes they want, and they help retailers convert to and maintain the new organization long term.

The Beef Made Easy Campaign helps consumers with their decision making by grouping beef products by cooking method, like Pot Roasts, Steaks for Grilling/ Broiling, Steaks for Marinating, Beef for Stewing, and so forth.

Ken Angermeier, director of channel marketing/retail for the NCBA's Beef Made Easy campaign believes that organizing beef products by cooking method will have a positive impact for consumers, retailers and beef producers alike. If consumers know right at the point-of-purchase exactly how to prepare any fresh beef item, they will be less intimidated by anatomical names, have more confidence in their cooking skills and will expand the number and types of beef products they buy, he added.

All information is copywrited by Feed Lot magazine and cannot be printed or re-printed without the publishers express consent. Please contact Feed Lot Magazine for reprint and copy authorization.