If you like pulled pork on brioche … and charcuterie with champagne …

“At the end of the day, most people love meat, and we don't lean into that enough,” says 210 Analytics’ Roerink.

For many consumers, there’s an emotional connection to meat–a connection that can light up sales in a way that “What can I buy to make for dinner tomorrow night?” can’t, Roerink suggests. It’s about nostalgia; it’s about togetherness; it’s about a small everyday indulgence; she says, and that association between good memories and a meat-centered meal can triumph at the store over grumpiness about prices, if retailers are savvy enough to sell it that way.

Yes, many consumers remain downbeat on the economy, and inflation accounts for much of their pessimism. “Consumers recognize that inflation has slowed down from its peak last summer, (but) they cannot ignore that their budgets remain stretched and their purchasing power reduced,” Joanne Hsu, director of the University of Michigan’s closely watched Survey of Consumers, wrote in the survey’s final October 2023 report.

Further, consumers’ inflation expectations for the year ahead rose in the fall, while predictions about their own financial situation worsened–led by heightened pessimism among higher-income consumers.

But Roerink says sales data bear out that consumers who currently have the ability to spend more still are doing just that.

“The big lesson of ‘23 is that consumers have become very unpredictable,” she says. “You look at economic perceptions, and you think it should all be chicken or grinds, but there are still some premium cuts that are doing very well.”

She continues: “In the exact same basket, you're seeing ultra-value as well as premium (meat products) and ultra-convenience choices as well as that brisket that needs to be smoked for 10 hours.”

Circana’s Parker sees a similar trend, with meat spend also spread out over different types of retailers. “The same consumers buying a lot of their meat at supercenters are also the ones trying out butcher shops and ordering meat online,” Parker notes.

It’s about balancing the daily feed-the-household need with an interest in exploring higher-end ingredients; utilizing those specialty grills, air fryers and other kitchen appliances bought during the pandemic; and creating a special-treat meal at home–which is still by and large less expensive than going to a restaurant for the same indulgence. “I don’t think we’ve really tapped into meat escapism,” she says.

For consumers, says Roerink, the desire to enjoy a high-quality, craveable, meat-centered meal is there, but the onus is on food retailers to sell the idea of that meal and “really be better merchandisers than we’ve ever been.”

The meat department could look elsewhere in the store–the bakery department, the pet-products aisle and the baby-items aisle in particular–for examples of selling the emotional connection with a product category, says Roerink. Baby-aisle signage will show a mom nuzzling her child, not a box of diapers, and the bakery will display an image of a smiling family gathered around a cake.

“Rather than showing a steak on a plate, why not show someone who's biting into a juicy burger and really loving life?” Roerink says.