HEB Teams Up With Beef Council
To Educate Employees About Beef

By Colleen Schreiber

AUSTIN — Small family-owned butcher shops are few and far between. Gone are the days of the friendly one on one conversations with the butcher who knew his customers by first name — their usual order, as well — and who could answer any question about a particular cut of beef. In its place are the modern one-stop supermarkets designed to service the lifestyle of today’s fast-paced, convenience-minded consumer.

That convenience-minded consumer is all too often depicted as a housewife who not only does not have time to cook, oftentimes she doesn’t know how to cook. To that particular housewife, the meat case is a foreign world in which she feels overwhelmed and intimidated. Half of the cuts she’s never heard of, and if she has, many times she doesn’t know how to prepare them. Unfortunately, all too often her questions and concerns are never addressed because supermarket employees themselves don’t know much about how consumers use beef.

Texas-based HEB, the 12th largest food retailer in the U.S., recognizes the problem and is working hard to do something about it. In 1996, HEB teamed with the Texas Beef Council to develop the HEB Beef Boot Camp. The boot camp is a one-of-a-kind innovative approach designed to educate HEB employees about beef in the format of a one-day intensive cooking school.

"To survive in the future, I predict that all food industry professionals will have to have culinary in their vocabulary," says Steve Harper, vice president of meat and seafood marketing and procurement for HEB. We have people wrapping beef in the store who don’t know that much about how consumers use beef, and we have to change that," he insists.

The Texas Beef Council began cultivating a working relationship with HEB well over a decade ago. Owned and operated by the H.E. Butt family since 1906, HEB is recognized by those in the beef industry for its loyalty and commitment to beef, and for its commitment to its beef consumers.

HEB’s business is built around selling food, and that food is cooked in people’s homes. In terms of moving tonnage and maintaining market share, experts say the beef industry needs a healthy grocery trade and it needs consumers cooking, especially at home. Thus one of the reasons for forming partnerships such as the one TBC has with HEB.

The concept behind the HEB Beef Boot Camp, Harper says, involves a major paradigm shift for the retail industry and the various segments of the beef industry. That shift centers around recognition that the customer’s eating experience is the most important thing.

"This is an opportunity for us to change the way we think about our customers and our business, to move from selling beef to selling food and selling a great eating experience," Harper told participants in a recent boot camp.

Harper has been in the meat business for 37 years. It was the beef boot camp in part, he says, which opened his mind to a whole new array of ideas, concepts and ways of thinking about beef.

"I was good at cutting meat and putting it in the counter," Harper says, "but I had a real blind spot about what the customer does once he buys that product. I’m rounding out that blind spot, and HEB, as a company, is rounding out their blind spot as well."

The idea for the beef boot camp originated at the Texas Beef Council. In the early 1990s, checkoff gurus suggested that the industry concentrate on communicating how to cook beef and cook it properly. Thus, when the new campaign, "Beef — It’s what’s for dinner," rolled out, the focus was on meals rather than cuts.

Robin Murphy, who was then employed at the Beef Council, like everyone else, had been watching the growing trend away from a rural lifestyle to an urban one. She saw more mothers move into the workplace and she noticed how more and more schools were doing away with home economics. To follow the theme of the nationwide campaign, Murphy proposed the idea of taking a cooking show on the road to various retail markets. The thought process was to teach those who work in the grocery stores how to cook beef so they in turn could teach their customers.

A few years ago, Murphy left TBC and was hired to be HEB’s culinary manager for meat and seafood, a fledgling department which Murphy describes as in the "growing legs" stage.

Murphy, who cooks to relax and who has a personal credo to buy five things she’s never purchased before each time she goes to the grocery store, says the one and really only goal of the boot camp is ultimately to be able to reach the customers.

"We want customers who aren’t intimidated by any cut of meat, who can go to our meat case and pick up anything from a flank steak to a tenderloin, to an eye of round, to a beef back rib, to a short rib, to a shank and know what to do with it. We want them to know how versatile beef is."

Before that can be done, HEB believes, store personnel must first be trained as food professionals.

Addressing his "market partners," as HEB employees are known, Harper says, "Most of us can go down a grocery aisle and say whether something is in stock or not. Very few of us can go down the grocery aisle and stop at the oil section and talk about the 35 or 40 different oils that we have or the spice aisle and talk about the different rubs, and marinades and the flavors and how to use them.

"A customer who has a question needs to be able to address that question to a trained partner," Harper continues. "If we advertise or tell people we’re the food experts and they don’t find that expert, then there’s a chance that we’ll lose that customer," Harper says.

Education, he contends, is tremendously important.

"Education is what will take the industry into the future. Education is what will help the industry retain and grow market share," he insists.

At boot camp, market partners have an opportunity to interact with food on a personal, hands-on level — to feel the food, to prepare the food and finally to taste the food. They’re introduced to the concept "cuts right, cooks right, eats right."

Instructors of the beef boot camp focus on the idea that beef is easy, versatile and healthy. At the end of the day, participants have the know-how to prepare 14 of these easy, versatile and healthy meal solutions for their families. They learn the basic techniques for stir frying, pan frying, braising and roasting. They get a lesson in grilling, which includes everything from the proper way to prepare a charcoal fire, to determining the right temperature, to the proper cooking time.

They learn that stir frying is a quick cooking method in which an entire meal can be prepared in the same amount of time or less than it would take to go through the drive-through at a fast food chain. They learn that stir frying involves a lifting motion, not a stirring motion, that the thinner the piece of meat the higher the cooking temperature, and that meat should be turned with tongs rather than a fork. They learn how to tell when something is done simply by touch. Spices should be bought in the smallest container possible, they’re told, because after about a year they lose their flavor, and they learn that certain oils cook at a higher temperature and give different flavors. They also hear about "bone skin" and the negative effect it has on a consumer’s eating experience.

In terms of cuts of meats, students learn that an eye of round is comparable to a boneless, skinless chicken breast in terms of fat content. They also learn that the eye of round is less tender, so cooking time becomes critical. Top blade steak, they discover, is the second most tender cut, and not nearly as expensive as, say, the T-bone. In addition, it can be used in a wide variety of cooking methods. They learn why pork and chicken are called "white meat," even though they’re really not white meat.

They learn how to add to the consumer’s eating experience by cross-merchandising such things as heat resistant spatulas, tongs, gravy separators, meat thermometers, refrigerator thermometers and meat mallets, to name a few. They also learn how valuable cross-merchandising can be to HEB’s bottom line.

They learn about food safety and the importance of cooking ground meat to 160 degrees F to prevent E. Coli:0157.

Beef boot camp is also about busting myths and breaking down perceptions and barriers to using beef. The nutrition segment of the program is perhaps the biggest eye-opener. Instructors dispel the myths that beef is high in cholesterol and high in fat. They stress that the problem with the American diet, the reason so many Americans are overweight or why they’re not heart healthy, is not because of red meat but rather because Americans exercise too little and consume too many calories from sugar and fat. They learn that ounce for ounce, lean beef is comparable in fat to skinless chicken breast and other meat proteins. More specifically, cuts from the loin and round contain less than 10 grams of fat per serving. They’re told that some fat is necessary in the diet because it transports fat soluble vitamins in the body and through the wall of the digestive tract. Plus, fat gives food flavor.

They discuss research which shows that meat in the diet improves the quality of nutrition, strengthens the immune system, promotes normal growth and helps ensure optimal learning and academic performance. Participants learn that beef contains three times more iron than chicken, four times more than pork and 10 times more than fish. Furthermore, they’re told that beef is the best source of zinc, which is needed by the body to resist infections, and Vitamin B12, which is critical for growth and for the synthesis of DNA.

Thus far, Harper says, the beef industry has done a poor job of telling its nutritional story.

"We, as an industry, haven’t done a good job on the nutritional front because we haven’t seen it as a necessity. I think it is very much a necessity," he comments. "There’s misunderstanding regarding cholesterol and fat grams in beef," he insists, "and consumers don’t know how nutrient-dense beef really is. The beef industry has to answer the question, why eat beef?"

Murphy agrees. "I believe that you have to give people permission to eat beef. We can teach you how to cook it, but first you have to believe it’s okay to eat. I believe before other platforms can move forward in the beef industry, we have to convince consumers that it’s part of a healthy diet. This has to be common knowledge. Right now the common knowledge is that red meat is bad for us."

The health issue is one topic often debated among checkoff overseers. Some think checkoff dollars should be used strictly to target volume and tonnage. Murphy admits that the industry really hasn’t had the dollars to go after both tonnage and health. The other factor in the health debate is that some question whether someone who promotes their own product would be viewed as a credible health source. Murphy points out, however, that the dairy industry has used this very approach and their efforts have resulted in a considerable increase in the consumption of skimmed or low fat milk.

"Third party endorsements are considered critical in this area," Harper adds.

Though still evolving with only its "first toe in the water," so to speak, the beef boot camp has already been deemed a huge success. To date, some 375 market partners from a wide cross section ranging from those behind the meat case to those in advertising, store design, own brands, quality assurance, to store directors, produce managers, grocery managers, drug managers, etc., have gone through the boot camp. The 450-name waiting list is evidence of its growing popularity.

"I want our people to take away a passion for beef and its merits and the conviction to use that passion for their personal benefit and also for their business benefit," Murphy says. "I want them to enjoy beef and enjoy it in all forms, and to be comfortable with it whether it’s stuffed, rolled, flambayed, broiled, grilled, rubbed, sauced, etc."

In terms of the future, Harper reiterates the importance of communication and education.

"I think the beef boot camp is one of the best things we do as a company and also one of the best uses of the industry’s resources," Harper says. "Those people who don’t know how their products are used will not be successful in the future," he insists.

Communications between the various segments of the beef industry, he adds, are improving.

"I’ve become much more aware of what the other segments do and what they don’t do and what they can do in terms of contributions to a great eating experience."

Perhaps more important, the various segments, Harper contends, are realizing that they’re consumer-driven and not industry or producer-driven.

"For the health of our industry and the growth of market share for beef, we have to produce a great eating product," he says, adding, "A great eating experience comes from all segments, not just from one."

The retail marketer belives, however, that all segments are in need of some change. He insists that those who refuse to change or those who refuse to adapt will struggle to survive in the future.

"Everything is driven by the customer," he reiterates. "To the degree that we satisfy them, we’ll survive. To the degree that we don’t, we won’t. Those in each segment who don’t adapt to the customer will find it very difficult to continue to compete in the future."

Harper does believe the industry is doing a better job of producing the product the consumer demands, but he’s quick to add that all segments of the industry still have a long way to go.

"Beef is king in Texas in the meat departments," Harper insists. "Texans love their beef, but we have to ensure that it continues that way. We have to adapt as our customers change, and to date we haven’t done a very good job of that."

In terms of adapting to consumers’ convenience needs, HEB is doing some in-store fabrication as well as some value-adding processes like marinating and precooking. They’ve developed a fully cooked spiral prime rib roast which sells particularly well during the holidays and competes nicely with the traditional holiday meats like turkey and ham. Most recently, HEB developed a fully cooked brisket ready to eat in 50 minutes to an hour.

"There’s no reason why beef shouldn’t be just as convenient as any other product," Harper insists.

Though not a bad concept, the meal solution craze, he says, is poorly defined and poorly understood.

"What is the solution?" Harper queries. "Products that serve the needs of our customers. It’s that simple."

Why, then, is the industry so far behind others? HEB’s vice president admits he doesn’t really know the answer.

"Probably just lack of effort," he says. "It’s been slow in coming, maybe because we have been slow in thinking about beef as food. Beef has kind of lost the ingredient war. Hot dogs are an example."

There are those in the industry who worry about consolidation and concentration, and Harper is no different, but he doesn’t believe the beef industry will ever be as consolidated as the poultry industry.

"I think there’s room for a lot of players, but who becomes players will be those who use good science, who recognize that efficiency is important, who look at how to remove inefficiencies and how to produce a better quality product at a lower price, i.e., those who adapt the product to the customer’s needs."

The poultry industry, he points out, will produce more product more efficiently, gain market share and sell their product at a lower retail cost and still make money, all because they are efficient.

Despite the challenges facing the beef industry, Harper says he’s excited about the future.

"The future is tremendous. I don’t worry about other industries. I just focus on the customer. I personally believe in the beef industry," Harper says. "We have a better quality protein at a better price than anywhere else in the world, and it didn’t happen by accident. It happened with a lot of tradition and a lot of hard work, and it won’t stay that way without a lot of hard work and without people who care and people who are willing to compete."