Terry Ackerman thinks the next time someone walks into a store to buy a barbecue, he should be able to buy bison meat to cook on it at the same time.
The Guelph, Ont., marketing consultant said bison meat producers would be better off selling their product through smaller, independent channels than trying to get into the large grocery chains.
“I’d buy freezers and I’d put them in stores where they sell barbecues,” he said during an interview at the Canadian Bison Association annual convention.
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He’d add barbecue sauce made especially for bison meat, and barbecue supplies that feature bison.
The idea is to create brand awareness, he said. The word bison lends itself to that.
“Think Nike. Think Bison.”
Ackerman said producers should also think about where they could place their product as a substitute. For example, airlines might consider offering bison-based meals.
Independent groceries are always looking for products to draw customers through the doors. The larger chain stores visit the successful independents weekly to see what they are offering.
“You don’t have to be in the big stores. They’ll find you.”
He also noted that customers who shop independent or specialty stores expect to and will pay more for what they want.
Ackerman, of BCI Marketing Partners Inc., said bison meat is a “sleeping giant product.”
He likens it to where soy was about seven years ago. The trend to natural, healthier products puts bison meat at the right place at the right time.
“It’s healthier, it’s low in fat, it’s environmental friendly,” he said. “The (CBA) logo’s not bad and you can create a story around it.”
Right now, there is little excitement about bison. Ackerman encouraged the industry to build a program, create that buzz and work with the media to get the message out. Producers should form an organization that knows how to talk the retail language, he said.
“You don’t compete in the commodity market,” he said, referring to competition with beef.
Quality control is key, he added. Standards must be set and met by absolutely everyone.
He used to run a large organic dairy company. On the first day that new standards were in place, he rejected the first load of milk picked up, even though it belonged to an executive member, because it didn’t meet those standards.
Ackerman told bison producers that it takes five years for a consumer trend to become established and five years for it to diminish, if it ever does. Pizza, for example, arrived in Canada in the 1960s and launched a fast food revolution that turned into a trend.
The No. 1 fast food right now in the United Kingdom is curry. In China, it’s Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald’s holds the distinction in Japan.
“Food items can drive a trend,” Ackerman said.
But producers also have to be realistic. Ninety percent of the new retail food products introduced each year fail. If a product doesn’t move off store shelves within 60 days, it’s gone, he said.
