The cattle industry can’t ignore shoppers’ emotions, the national retail manager of the Beef Information Centre told a recent conference.
Meat cutters look at a piece of meat in terms of its function, said Michael Young. But consumers look at other factors.
They question whether one breed is better than another, or whether “natural” beef is better.
They want to know whether an animal was well cared for and if it came from a family farm. They want to know how it was processed.
Read Also
Going beyond “Resistant” on crop seed labels
Variety resistance is getting more specific on crop disease pathogens, but that information must be conveyed in a way that actually helps producers make rotation decisions.
Producers and industry have to look at meat for “what it delivers functionally and what it delivers on the emotional side,” said Young.
“We no longer can discount those because they do work,” he told the Saskatchewan Institute of Agrologists. “People believe and have connections with some of these emotional ties.”
In fact, the industry lost market share because it ignored consumers, he said, and retailers who want to be successful should pay attention.
Brands can play a role in this. About 50 percent of beef is sold under some type of brand and that can give consumers confidence.
Retailers are already responding to consumers’ desire for healthier choices and quicker cooking times.
Consumers want smaller portions but carcasses keep getting bigger. Retailers have to invest in expensive labour to convert carcasses to meet consumers’ needs and expectations.
Young said retailers are learning to cut meat differently. Quick roasts, cut cylindrically and designed to cook in 45 minutes, are catching on. Medallion cuts are also popular.
“This style of cutting is coming into Canada and it’s coming down the tracks like a train,” Young said. “We’re changing the way meat is cut, slowly. You will see a different meat case.”
