Food Forum: A meaty issue

Organic and natural offerings are becoming must-haves in the meat department. By Brian Diffenderfer As consumers become increasingly concerned about healthier living and “better for you” products, the selection of organic and all-natural meats has surged. This has caused product shortages as suppliers scramble to fill the pipeline. When it comes to meats in particular, shoppers are more often avoiding products that have come in contact with antibiotics and growth hormones, often opting for higher-priced “free from” alternatives. Organic and natural products now represent 4% of the total U.S. meat sales for the latest 52 weeks ended March 29, according to Nielsen. Organic meat dollar sales have grown 28% and natural meat dollar sales have grown 11%; conventional meat dollar sales only grew 2.5%. To keep these savvier customers, retailers must ensure they have the right items available in each of the key meat categories. For example, if a retailer is contemplating the launch of a “better for you” program in its meat department, I would advise starting with the chicken category. Nielsen also shows that organic chicken dollar sales grew 24% and natural chicken dollar sales grew 20%.  In fact, chicken represents more than 59% of all the organic sales. Driving sales is organic chicken breast, representing 62% of all organic poultry sold, followed by chicken thighs at 14%, and then whole birds at 12%. In the “natural” chicken products arena, chicken breast sales represent 71% of all natural poultry sales, followed by chicken thighs at 8% and then whole birds at 7%. In the organic meat subcategories, there has been impressive sales growth in beef, bacon, processed lunchmeat and franks.  According to Nielsen, ground beef is up 59% in dollar sales and represents 69% of the sales. Bacon (83%), processed lunchmeat (176%) and franks (52%) are all seeing double-digit sales growth over the last 52 weeks. During the winter months, many retailers brought in organic seasonal items with great success. There was large dollar sales growth in organic smoked hams, fresh turkeys, frozen turkeys and frozen turkey breast. These are key items around the holiday selling season and a great way to show consumers a full line of “Better for You” products. Value versus price Price is still one of the top barriers for organic products as many consumers do not think they are worth the extra money. This is why it is so important to educate employees and customers about organic and natural product attributes. Customers do not mind paying a little more for these products if they can easily see the value or benefits. This can be done with store signage, pamphlets or even video monitors with the actual farmer talking about humanely-raised beef products or about free-range organic chickens. Another roadblock for consumers looking to purchase organic and natural products is that they cannot always find the items they need. A retailer not already well known or recognized for offering “better for you” products should consider investing in their own private brand organic and natural products throughout its fresh department, and even in its center store aisles with plenty of marketing and communication to raise awareness. This will make it easier for customers to not only find desired products but also develop a higher level of trust with the retailer making them available. For retailers that already have “better for you” brands but are not seeing growth results, try raising their visibility by merchandising all of these items together in an end cap display. Evaluate current item offerings and make sure that the right items are plentiful in key meat department categories with quality products consumers are seeking. Try advertising these items in a sub-line below the conventional item whenever and wherever possible to communicate their availability and generate excitement. While I do not think organic and natural meat products are going to dominate overall meat department sales anytime soon, it is time to pay attention to consumers looking for organic and natural items in every category of the store by offering quality, easy-to-find options that clearly state why they are worth the prices. Brian Diffenderfer is director of meat & seafood for Daymon Worldwide. He can be reached at, [email protected].