Checkoff-Funded Research Deals
With Dilemma Facing Consumers

From The Texas Cattle
Feeders Association

AMARILLO — For years, the $1-per-head checkoff has been working to stabilize market share for beef — no easy task in a marketing environment that gives consumers more food options than ever before. To help the beef industry compete for its share of plate, the beef checkoff has conducted research to better understand consumers — and learned some very interesting things in the process.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 70 percent of women were in the workforce in 1996 compared with 42 percent in 1960. In addition, 75 percent of women today say they still do the majority of the household chores, including grocery shopping and meal preparation. Today's woman is burning both ends of the candle and is looking for ways to buy a little more free time.

"For many years, consumers bought their free time at the restaurant, dining out more often rather than preparing meals at home," says Jim Schwertner, incoming president of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association. However, checkoff-sponsored research is detecting a change in that trend, and the beef industry is working with retailers to take advantage of it.

The trend now is for people to put a premium on family time, and in many cases that family time occurs in a very traditional way — at dinner. In fact, 32 percent of consumers say they have dinner at home more often than in years past, and more than seven in 10 have dinner with family five days a week, according to checkoff-sponsored research conducted by the NPD Group.

"However, the traditional sit-down family dinner still remains a thing of the past. Instead of gathering at a formal dining table to enjoy one main meal, today's families are gathering in less formal settings, such as a kitchen bar area, and eating several smaller entrees to satisfy different tastes and time schedules," Schwertner says.

"And, while people are eating more meals in-home with their families, they're not necessarily spending more time cooking. Many consumers are adopting time-saving strategies that get them out of the kitchen and into the family fold, which has resulted in greater reliance on prepared items and frozen foods."

Enter the 4:30 dinner dilemma.

"As consumers’ lifestyles change, so do their attitudes about shopping for and preparing meals," Schwertner says. "Because of growing time demands and pressures, consumers are putting off dinner decisions until the last minute."

According to beef industry research, two-thirds of dinner decisions are made the same day. Of those, 73 percent wait until 4:30 p.m. to decide what to have for dinner.

This "4:30 dinner dilemma" presents some challenges, as well as some real opportunities, for the beef industry and for retail stores. By delivering retail beef products that fit the bill for great taste, simplicity and convenience, retailers give their customers more reasons to visit their store.

"These consumer attitudes and behaviors are driving important changes for the beef industry — changes we hope will stabilize beef’s market share," Schwertner says. "The focus for the beef industry's retail marketing efforts is simpler preparation, simpler products and simpler shopping."

Research shows many of today's consumers, especially younger shoppers, have less cooking knowledge than previous generations.

"Therefore, they buy a limited range of staple cuts they find easy to prepare. To sell a broader range of cuts and increase consumers' comfort level with cooking fresh beef, the beef industry is using checkoff dollars to work with a major retailer to roll out simple, three-step cooking instructions that take the guesswork out of making beef meals. The retailer plans to launch the on-pack instruction labels this fall," Schwertner says.

And that's not all. To simplify the shopping experience, the beef industry is using checkoff dollars to work with retailers to test alternative meat case layouts that could boost sales of underutilized products.

"While most fresh meat cases are set by species, research indicates consumers don't think about that when making purchase decisions," Schwertner says. "Instead, they consider factors such as what meal they want to prepare, their families' tastes, time influences and cooking skills. As a result, consumers tend to buy a limited range of products, like ground beef and steaks."

To sell a broader range of beef cuts and increase consumer demand, the beef industry is helping fresh meat retailers implement alternative case layouts to better market beef products.

"The goal is to help retailers match their case layout to how their consumers shop," Schwertner explains. "If consumers can consistently find the products they want, sales will increase. Because beef leads the pack in total meat case volume, the beef industry stands to win a larger share of the consumer's meat dollar."