REGINA – Buffalo may be the name for meat produced by the bison industry if the Canadian Bison Association accepts a marketing consultant’s report.
Kaji Kado, a meat industry consultant with PPD Inc., told the Canadian Bison Association during the Canadian National Bison Convention in Regina that name confusion makes it harder to sell bison meat to busy urban shoppers.
“Buffalo – the name must come out clearly,” he said.
“You can’t walk away from more than 200 years of history. It was Buffalo Bill, not Bison Bill. Work with what the consumer already understands.”
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Manitoba Agriculture bison specialist Ray Salmon agreed.
“Buffalo is a name that is better known and better understood by the consumer and marketing the meat will be what makes this business go at the end of the day.”
Bill Bouffioux, a Fort St. John, B.C., producer and bison association president, also thinks the name should change.
“The second most asked question is, ‘What is the difference between the bison you grow and buffalo?’ We need to make it clearer in the consumer’s mind. I know there will be some growers that will be resistant to the change.”
CBA executive director Gavin Conacher said a name change may improve marketing efforts.
“If we get pork from a pig and venison from a deer, then why not buffalo from a bison?” he said at the Nov. 19 conference.
“I expect there may be a name change in the future.”
Kado said the industry needs to capitalize on the fact consumers believe bison meat is a natural product.
“The consumer perception (is) that it represents an open, healthy environment. A buffalo has a lot of historical goodwill.”
