A World of Innovation Conference

AHDB Beef & Lamb trade marketing strategy and successes
Marketing Plan was presented by Mike Whittemore, Sector Director, AHDB Beef &Lamb

Providing new products from the forequarter, premium cuts from the hindquarter and enhancing the market value of beef mince, increases the value of the carcase, which, in turn, reduces the large percentage of beef sales sold as standard mince.

Scope:
The Carvery Range
Steak Bar Range
Chop House Range
Gourmet Burgers
Seasonal activity
Simply Does it – Casserole and Braising

Gap analysis is undertaken to try and have a handle by talking to associations and developing relationships.

Thin Cuts
Healthy meal but not burger, not steak – but want beef. Keep beef on the menu.
3 in 1 concepts for versatile meals – traditional, worlds flavours, healthy.
Need to be relevant and ahead of the game.
A range of cuts that meets consumer needs.
Easy, quick cook steak options for, lighter, healthier meal concepts –
Keeps steak on the menu!

Discover Lamb
Easy to cook tasty lamb.
Consumer view is fatty wasteful, expensive.
Cannon of lamb researched well but is very rarely marketed. Should be doing more with this and three bone racks.
Added value products with new flavours, creative marinades, etc
Try pulled lamb

Steak Bar
Feel is that steak is expensive and inconsistent.
Need: consistent specification, affordable cuts, alternative value, steaks for every occasion.
Under blade Fillet, Denver Steak, Flat Iron, Bistro Rump, Hanger Steak, Centre Cut Steaks, Bavette.

Gourmet Burgers
Continue to grow at a great rate.
Chuck Burgers, Brisket Burgers, Rump Burgers
Different carriers – Thai, Mexican, Korean, Indian
It's all about flavour”¦

Carvery Mini Joints
More affordable
More versatile
More menu opportunities
Not just for the weekend, make sure that the product is fit for purpose.
Picanha Roasts and Lamb Rib Eye Joint

Slowly Does it
Beef Shanks – “potential is enormous”
Casserole and braising
Continue to develop this market and build on what we have learnt.

Current Research Initiatives
Multiples serve over to be more theatre, viewed as key to profit
Summer Trends: burgers, barbecuing, retail trends

Understanding the consumer is centre to everything but has to make commercial sense.
With all marketing initiatives, we have to consider the consumer needs:
• Their attitudes
• Their purchasing habits
• Their lifestyles
• Their disposable income
• Their age and gender
• Their aspirations
Innovation is vital to answer the demands of the consumer and drive the market for the future. Innovation is the key to the future of the red meat industry.

UK Beef and Lamb market update
Matt Southam, Multiple Retailer Account Manager AHDB
Declining volumes, less households buying and buying less frequently. Consistent 2.5% decline principally going towards poultry. Less affluent are the ones eating less but also in the 65+ group. This is the most important age group for sales of red meat and is concerning.

Discounters having success with mince.
Red meat struggles to get served in single person occasions

Price is the main driver of product choice.
Eating at home is becoming more multicultural. Foreign born population up to 13% in 2011 from 9% in 2001.
Households are changing. Two thirds are one or two person households and this sector has the poorest uptake of red meat suggesting products do not suit this sector. One person meal solutions will become more and more important.
Time spent preparing evening meals:
1980: 1 hour, 1990: 45 minutes, 2014: 31 minutes.
Red meat is failing to provide products that fit into this requirement. The elderly have greatest cooking knowledge but they have the lowest percentage of from scratch cooks. Microwaving is most used by over 65s.

Beef and Lamb need to strive to attract the young through dishes that are quick to cook. Fish is attracting them more. If you haven't tried a product by the age of 35 it is highly unlikely that you will try it after 35.

Health is underestimated factor.
Kanter research reveals nearly a third of all choices made on the grounds of health. Change of diet because of belief that it is healthier to eat less red meat. Fish and chicken have better perceptions. Negative perceptions need to be addressed and benefits highlighted.

Beef and lamb is seen as tasty but chicken scores much higher on versatility.

Traditional British meals still at top but Indian, Mexican, Chinese, Italian growing mainly because cook in sauces instructions say use chicken. Complete meal based dishes are most popular now in the UK. In the past we would have seen Meat, potatoes and Veg being a common meal option. This also heavily impacts beef and lamb sales. Mince has grown in popularity due to its versatility and ability to be a key ingredient in many meal based dishes. Whole cuts however have suffered as a result. Meals tend to be dish based and choice of meat species is not the first thought. “We do more shopping “for tonight”.

Solutions in the marketplace:-
Consumer willing to pay for the convenience and want value for money. The average purchase to consumption time for a product bought from a convenience store is HALF that as one bought from a supermarket. Products taking longer than 31 minutes are not gaining market share.
Waitrose Easy to Cook chicken in a tinfoil tray for example gets a premium.
Ready to cook chicken portions volume growth of 40% in 5 years while primary chicken portions volume growth of 16% in 5 years – Tesco Piri Piri Chicken is £9 per kilo
Salmon Fillet in Thai Sauce sold at £15.66 per kilo, a 15% increase, while plain Salmon Fillet sold at £12.77 per kilo – a 3% decline. Conclusion: Value for money rather than price.

Sous vide and Ready to cook are relative new categories in the market but are attracting good levels of growth from small bases.

Sous-vide products significantly reduce the cook time of whole beef and lamb cuts- typically taking 20-30mins as they have been pre cooked. They also appeal to pulled or shredded meats trends which have grown rapidly with the rise of BBQ restaurants in London and now in other cities. They are also able to be sold at a competitive price point, as many utilise cheaper cuts which require long, slow cooking methods provide consistent, tender results. Many also have accompanying sauces which further increase convenience perceptions.

Ready to cook products are sold in their raw state, however are accompanied by sauces, ingredients and other added value elements which provide a large proportion of a complete meal solution. Although more expensive than their fresh meat alternatives, as we have previously seen- consumers are willing to pay this premium for convenient solutions. Beef and Lamb ready to cook products however still struggle against the relative cheaper price points of chicken and Pork ready to cook products which they are ranged alongside of.

Sous-vide and Ready to cook products are experiencing good growth rates eg Lamb Shank, BBQ Beef Ribs. Multiples producing more packaged ready meals that have cooking times of under 30 minutes. Can we still sell large roasting joints?

Could we inspire the end solution better? A steak is a steak but accompanying products or recipes can create a dish to inspire purchase. Imagery in stores is poor, more like “wall of death”. Pictures of finished meal dishes should be encouraged.

Research indicates consumers are constantly looking to expand their stock of inspiring recipes
Household sizes continue to decline. Time is key determinant of product and protein choice and relevance. Providing cooking information at point of purchase is important.

Summary:
• Beef & Lamb volume sales are in long term decline at the expense of poultry, fish and ready meals
• Households continue to move toward meal solutions rather than ingredients
• Time (to prepare, cook and time available) is a key determinant of protein & product choice and relevance.
• Household make-up, health concerns and cooking confidence also contributes to declining sales
• Convenient product solutions, packaging and dish inspiration can help ensure beef and lamb remains part of the modern consumer's meal repertoire

UK Innovation and Product Development
Dick van Leeuwen, Business Development Manager, AHDB Beef & Lamb
He advised visiting the AHDB website www.qsmbeefandlamb.co.uk where extensive costing can be easily performed. For example see Topside traditional against alternative. These tools are very popular.

Individual cuts success:
Rump cap into 'Premier Tier' Picanha Steaks.
Rump Steaks cut into Premium Bistro Steaks, see am cut as individual muscle that is successful.
Denver muscle seam cut from the chuck eye into Denver Steaks. This tender muscle actually creates inconsistency in stews where chuck (or shoulder) is diced.
Tender Top Muscle into Trnder Top Straks as opposed to joints
Centre Cut Muscle out of the Thick Flank.
Rump Tail (tri-tip) sell as Premium Tri-Tip Steaks but with more bite compensated by flavour.

Shoulder Muscles:
Clod Flat, Clod Shin and Needle muscles for stewing as opposed to mince could add £3.86m to annual retail sales value of these muscles.

Silverside into Silverside mini roasts as opposed to casserole / stewing steak.
Shoulder of Lamb sold boneless as Victoria a Roasts could add £5.83m to annual retail sales value of the shoulder.
Leg of Lamb seam butchered can create more usable and more profitable cuts.

AHDB Beef & Lamb New Product Development unit in Cheshire is available free.

US Beef Market Update
Jim Etheridge, Executive Director, Strategic Account Management Beef Innovations Group
Consumer challenges in the USA were described and it was felt that there was a lot to lean from them. He said that he appreciated the partnership with AHDB over a five year period. Experience working at Sara Lee and others in USA led him to this work.

He started by commenting on what he had heard so far. Household sizes are changing, prep time declining etc. he suggested that we had to adjust as to how the game develops just like a soccer game. In the States Medallions of Beef are having a great success – (Underblade fillet in England). He said if prices were set to tenderness Flat Iron Steak would come second to Fillet Steak. He noted that packaging in UK was better than his. Felt that UK did a better job of storytelling.

Knowing unique differences in maturation through ageing is important claiming that chuck muscle reached its optimum in 14 days while Denver muscle would take 21.

Last year 89.9m cattle is the lowest since 1952. Forecast is to rise and this backed up by decline in commercial cow slaughtering. This follows period of drought that pushed feed costs up and ground could not sustain cattle. The effect was to reduce the herd size.

Consumer trends in USA
Protein is very important, hot trend.
73% of fresh meat eaters said that they would include that in their daily diet.
45% of consumers in U.S. cook at home, 18% of them say that they don't want to think
8% shop and only 7% stop at takeaways.
Younger generation are using slow cookers.

Millennials
Millennial 54% cook, 45% go to eat out takeaways
92% consider cooking is an art
89% want to do it better
56% consider it a chore
57% tried a recipe they saw posted on social media
19% of 21-24 year olds borrowed someone else's food to take a picture of it and post it on social media. “Generation Yum”.
Diversity is King
Food is a reason to gather.
Food is central to their lives
Eat out to gather ideas
Willing to splurge but looking for value and taste.

Millennials love beef.
39% from retail, even bigger form foodservice.
Perceive beef as manly, flavourful, celebratory and social.
What do they want? They want to cook healthier and easier.

Key takeaways for Foodservice.
Engage social media/ build loyalty
Beef is central to global flavours
Promote shareable beef items
Add healthy kids' beef items
Quality/taste trumps price

At retail it is about versatility and convenience
Emphasise beef's nutrition
Boost millennial confidence in the kitchen
Provide the information they seek, take time to listen everyone has unique consumers

Focus has been on communicating with the younger generation. Continue to find ways to make it relevant. Shifting how they message all the time.

U.S. Product Innovation and Market Development
Steve Wald, Executive Director, Innovation, Beef Innovation Group

Beef Innovations Group
Processors, product development, meat scientist through to marketeers.
Innovation is taken as a change for the better.

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses” Henry Ford. Sometimes consumers don't know what they want.
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower” Steve Jobs, Apple.

Did you know that consumers need help?
They know about mince and common meat cuts but little beyond that. Don't know a lot about braising, casseroling etc. they like to prepare a “real meal” every evening.

Why was I invited?
To share ideas, share information.
The power of an IDEA.
solution: convenient fresh beef
Goal is to make dinner at home better than going out.
Make fixing a fresh dinner easy at home
U.S. Have created special FDA approved microwave cooking bags.
Beef roast about 17 minutes in the microwave from raw but has to have the right fat cap etc.
Mess free microwaved Browned Ground Beef – recipe ready in 7 minutes or 9 minutes from frozen with no thawing. Fresh or frozen raw Ground Beef cooks and drains in own bag. Fast and neat! Excelsior Technologies Ltd developed the packaging – a British company!

3 in 1 starter kit.
Three different options with the one product.
Customer can customise themselves. Fresh beef plus a seasoning packet.
A Beef & Peppers, Beef Stew, Beef Stroganoff.
B three way Beef Strop Kit
C Three way cube kit
D Three way steak kit

The Slow Cooker
Convenient and make it more convenient.
Pot Roast and the Millennial
21-35 year olds – does pot roast fit in their lifestyle.
Is the name hip or current? No.
Are there opportunities here for the meat industry? Yes.
Slow Cooker Roast – consumer response to a new convenient beef concept.
Having roasted shred the beef into tacos, sandwiches, burritos, quesadillas.
Easy to clean up was the most popular thing about slow cooking in a cooking bag.
100% of consumers said they would buy a chuck muscle that was not popular if it came in a slow cook bag.

43% of fresh beef goes in the freezer
62% of minced beef goes in the freezer
Five in 10 meals are decided after 3.30pm
Developed mince from freezer to cooked.

A few final thoughts
Continue to ask why and what if.

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often” Winston Churchill

UK Foodservice: a World of Taste
Hugh Judd, Foodservice Project Manager, AHDB Beef & Lamb and

The World of Flavours continues to dominate.
The popularity of Street Food shows no sign of abating
The traditional Steak Sandwich is evolving into two channels – the better burger and a jazzed up sandwich
The Smokehouse/BBQ phenomenon shows no sign of slowing down
Much more lamb dishes are starting to break through

Menus: so much more than a list …
Passion for Provenance is extending from proteins to other parts of the menu
It becomes the place to tell customers your whole philosophy. It's passionate from the heart.
Be famous for what you do best – specialise like a Street Trader.

Inside Foodservice
Simon Peat, Managing Director, Inside Foodservice

Part of his work examines where restaurants are busy and why people are queuing. His top ten to watch for trends and innovation were:-

1 BAO a Tawanese bread roll sliced open and then filled with meat.
On the menu “40 day rump cap with aged white soy sauce featuring six slices of beef from Warrens in Cornwall”

2 Reds True Barbecue, Leeds
View that this is taking the place of a steak house. The place to go to get your meat fix.
On the menu – Beef Long – beef ribs rubbed and marinated for 24 hours smoked low and slow over a unique blend of hickory.

3 Hungry Donkey, London
Greek street food, lamb sourced from named English counties.
On the menu- Well seasoned big portions of lamb, Souvlaki Lamb Pita Bread

4 Dishoom, London
Based on Irani cafes that were once part of the fabric of life in Bombay.
Dishoom all day menu
“Lamb Raan Bun: slow cooked pulled marinated in chilli, garlic and ginger, braised overnight with spices, piled up in a sourdough bun”

5 Toston Tolon, Brighton
Venezuelan street food
On the menu – Pabellon Arepa stiffed with slow cooked pulled beef

6 The Eagle, London
One of the first Gastropubs in London
On the menu:- Ribs Ana – Portuguese steak sandwich featuring thinly sliced rump steak

7 The House of Ho, London
A contemporary Vietnanese street food
On the menu- Smoked 5 Spice Rack of Lamb with Steamed Bok Choi, Smoked Aubergine & Lamb Jus

8 Andina, London
Peruvian casual dining
On the menu corderito

9 Freemasons, Lancashire
Best food pub in Wiswell
Roast Rack and belly of Herdwick Lamb with its own Cheese, Black Olive, Red Pepper, Roast Cevennes Onion, Haggis Shepherd Pie

10 Beef and Brew, London
New concept featuring craft beer with an emphasis on cooking with cheaper cuts.
On the menu: “Short Rib braised with stout & treacle”

Red Meat and Nutrition
Mo Fisher, Marketing Communications Manager, AHDB Beef & Lamb

She alerted the audience to the forthcoming International Agency Research on Cancer. They will publish in the Lancet in mid October on any supposed link between red and processed meat and cancer.

AHDB have submitted to IARC, their latest research findings. Robust media/ communication plan to rebut any possible negativity. They will visit opinion leaders.

AHDB preparations:-
No clear evidence that lean, red meat causes cancer
British meat consumption levels remains within recommended limits
Red eat had an important part
Potential carcinogens are everywhere
Impact on UK Livestock industry – needs defending for speculation.

AHDB objectives to increase awareness of year importance that meat played in the diet are in partnership with their Danish counterparts, Bord Bia, Meat NZ, Livestock and Meat Commission (NI).

Target audiences: Media, online media and consumers.

Advice comes from Meat Advisory Panel of professionals, Including Prof Pickhard and Scottish nutritionist, Dr Carri Ruxton.

Continual drip of negative coverage with celebrities advocating different diets. Meat free months, meat free Monday. Major headline grabbing reports exposing alleged health risks behind red meat and “less meat” messages.

NSNS Research has been used to get as much good news as possible. Red meat consumption decline 8% over last four years but processed meat has remained the same. 11-24 year old girls uptake is low and because not eating beef they are not getting nearly enough iron. Beef is also rich in zinc and so bad for this age group again. Iron for Sport and Exercise will publish in October highlighting this problem. Hopefully the industry will be able to take advantage.

Conclusion: if we are going to make beef and lamb part of a consumer's diet it is important to address innovation.