Beef Council Helps Train SYSCO
Employees To Better Sell Beef

AUSTIN — One hundred marketing associates of SYSCO, North America’s largest foodservice marketer and distributor, improved their capability to sell beef thanks to recently completed training seminars conducted in cooperation with the $1 per head beef checkoff.

The seminar preceded SYSCO’s roll-out of several new beef products the corporation developed with the help of checkoff funding through the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

The Texas training was conducted by the Texas Beef Council, SYSCO and Texas A&M University. TBC and SYSCO shared costs to conduct four training seminars in July for the corporation’s front-line sales staff in Texas.

The objective of the training was to provide marketing associations with positive information about beef that they can pass on to their clients to increase understanding and sales of beef products.

"Lack of proper training is an industry-wide problem in foodservice," said Bob Lorino, SYSCO’s beef department manager with headquarters in Houston. "TBC and SYSCO developed this training to provide our MAs with the basic education so they’re better prepared to sell beef."

The four seminars focused on U.S. beef cattle production and the efficiencies that generate high quality, consistently tender beef products. Speakers from Texas A&M University, SYSCO and TBC discussed live animal production, carcass grading and inspection, beef fabrication to produce boxed beef, value-added products, menu ideas and nutrition.

"The focus of the seminar was on the cuts from the chuck and the round," said Linda Bebee, TBC’s vice president for domestic marketing. "These cuts have fallen 23 and 20 percent, respectively, in value over the last five years. However, they make up 66 percent of the beef carcass by weight. The checkoff program will work through companies like SYSCO to generate increased marketing opportunities and raise the value of these cuts."

Particular emphasis was paid to merchandising cuts like shoulder clod, inside round, tri-tips, and beef rib. Each of these cuts is underutilized in hotels, restaurants and institutions, yet each also offers excellent value at low cost to the foodservice operator.

SYSCO operates 71 distribution facilities in the contiguous United States, Alaska and Canada. The corporation provides products and services to approximately 270,000 restaurants, hotels, schools, hospitals, retirement homes and other foodservice operations.

"Partnerships with influential companies like SYSCO compound the impact of our beef checkoff dollars," said Richard Wortham, TBC executive vice president. "Through them, we increase beef’s share of menus in restaurants, hotels and institutions, which make up more than half of each food dollar spent by Americans."