Brands will soon be a right of entry into markets in the pork processing world, says a meat industry consultant.
“If you don’t have a brand, you’re just a commodity,” said Bruce Cowper of the Mallot Creek Group, an Ontario-based food industry consulting and engineering firm.
“There isn’t a lot of money in this industry at the commodity side. We need to make commodities into value-added products.”
Consumers trust brands, he told participants at the Saskatchewan Pork Industry Symposium in Saskatoon on Nov. 18. Brands increase loyalty by communicating unique selling points consumers are willing to pay more for, he said. Those selling points can be based on quality or species or respond to consumer trends such as a desire for convenience or healthy foods.
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He said there are special opportunities in branding pork as regionally based and natural. Consumers want to know where an animal came from, how it was raised and how it was processed.
“Regional means a lot to consumers, especially in Eastern Canada. Regional means ‘we’re taking care of the product.’ When we’re sitting down with focus groups, No. 1 is food safety. Always.”
Cowper said vertical integration, a chance for pork producers to be involved from production through processing, is a necessary part of brand strategy. The life cycle of a brand is short, between a year and 18 months. Players need to “get in, get our money and have an exit strategy.”
Animals need to be bred and raised to brand-related specifications, he said, and the only way to ensure a continual supply of similar animals is through integration.
“If you’re going to develop a brand, the animal coming in has to be spec (meeting specifications) each and every time. If you’re vertically integrated or co-ordinated, you can work together to make sure that product is at spec.”
Cowper said the reason per capita pork consumption is stagnant while chicken soars is that the commodity hasn’t been treated in a value-added manner.
Nestlé’s Skillet Sensations, an easy to prepare home-style meal, is one of the fastest growing brands in the United States.
“Every Skillet Sensation has a protein in it, a strip, cube or slice, that is mostly poultry. Why? Because they can get it. They can’t get pork or beef.”
Cowper said it’s time to look at how to put pork into the packaged products consumers are buying.
When asked about adding value to pork through functional properties such as nutraceuticals, Cowper said there is opportunity, but labelling regulations prevent processors from making the claims needed to attract consumers.
He said the average consumer looks at a food product label for five seconds so manufacturers would have to communicate their claims succinctly.
