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New and innovative beef marketing ideas are helping increase beef sales and creating a stronger beef presence to the supermarket meat case. Results of several checkoff-funded retail marketing efforts were released at the 2000 Meat Marketing Conference in Kansas City, Missouri. Among the information released was the impact of the industry's meat case simplification concept, which helps reduce consumer confusion and increase retail beef sales by marketing fresh beef cuts according to cooking method, rather than anatomy. Under a contract with the Cattlemen's Beef Board, the NCBA launched this checkoff-funded concept a year ago through a marketing program called "Beef Made Easy." Today, the concept is being used by nearly 20 of the nation's leading supermarket chains, representing more than 4,600 grocery stores. NCBA also share sales results some retailers have seen. One Midwestern retailer experienced a 9.8 percent increase in beef sales since implementing its customized "Beef Made Easy" program over six months ago. Beef pounds also increased 3.5 percent during the same period. In another checkoff-funded partnership, the beef industry helped a major Northwestern retailer reorganize its entire fresh meat case by cooking method. Fresh beef sales rose 14.8 percent during the nine months after implementation, as compared to a year earlier. Retailers using the meat case simplification concept include The Kroger Company, A&P, Pathmark, Safeway and many others. Michael Uetz, executive director of retail/foodservice marketing for NCBA, told Meat Marketing Conference attendees that "Beef Made Easy" is successful because it provides a foundation to make the entire meat case more consumer friendly. "While some retailers have taken our "Beef Made Easy" program and implemented it as is, many have tailored the concept to meet their individual strategies and needs," Uetz said. "A few are even starting to involve other proteins, and that's the ideal." "The efforts we've made to encourage supermarket meat case managers to improve their marketing strategies are paying off," according to Perry Teeter, a beef producer. "Through our checkoff, we're giving retailers the tools they can use to give consumers what they want -- convenient, easy-to--prepare beef that fits their lifestyles -- with less confusion at the meat case. |
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