KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Sometimes the bonds of friendship are forged during a crisis.
That was the situation when British Columbia cattle producers approached a major grocery chain to consider stocking exclusively Canadian beef on its shelves after a case of BSE cut off export markets two years ago.
The Overwaitea Food retail chain and its rancher partnership has turned into a success, said Ken Clark, national meat manager for the chain located in British Columbia and Alberta.
Working through Overwaitea Foods and Save-On Foods, the company has 104 stores serving 1.4 million customers. The store brand of Western Family was a natural fit for the beef campaign, Clark told the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association annual convention Aug. 16 in Kamloops.
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Up to May 2003, the chain had offered certified Angus beef. Many customers considered it an American beef program and wanted no part of it once the United States stopped accepting Canadian product due to the discovery of BSE.
“The perception by our customers was that certified Angus beef was an American program and because of what took place with BSE and the borders, our customers became very, very, very anti-American,” Clark said.
The store launched a major promotion campaign featuring B.C. ranching families in print. On television, prime time ads promoted AA and AAA graded Canadian beef. A weekly flyer program told the story of beef and the store watched sales soar.
“We’ve had double digit growth in the beef program since it started,” he said.
Beef sales account for 36 percent of the company’s total meat sales, so managers felt it was worth offering a different perspective of the partnership of producers and retailers.
“People wanted faces behind the brand,” said Clark.
Besides promoting beef in the store, the company joined numerous charity events with a ranch family or two present to help promote beef.
Customers responded well because they could put a face to the product.
The U.S. border has reopened to Canadian cattle but the program will continue because it was such a hit with customers.
