The Meat Market

Although tastes and product offerings change constantly, the marketing power of meat remains undiminished. In fact, it may be more critical than ever in winning shopper loyalty and building shopping trip satisfaction.

Retailers looking for points of differentiation in today's marketplace frequently cite fresh foods as the key battleground for consumer loyalty. In this case, shopper feedback makes it clear that perception aligns perfectly with reality.

A new consumer study from FMI and the American Meat Institute details the important role meat plays to the shopper and to all retailers looking for a marketing edge, especially for traditional operators. The vast majority of shoppers use supermarkets for food shopping trips and the advantage for traditional stores competing with supercenters grows when the shopping trip includes meat.

A traditional supermarket holds the loyalty of 86 percent of its regular shoppers for meat purchases. In sharp contrast, supercenters lose more than 40 percent of their regular shoppers on meat purchases. Supermarkets gain the largest percentage of those shoppers, followed by warehouse clubs and butcher shops.

Holding this advantage into the future will require further innovation, but again there are promising signs. Organic meat can be a real point of differentiation, especially among shoppers who say they are looking for better tasting and more nutritional products.

Supermarkets win a large share of the organic meat market, but the potential is even larger. Currently only 17 percent of shoppers say they purchased organic meat in the past three months, while 20 percent say they really don't understand how organic meat is different. Another 14 percent are uncertain if they have actually purchased an organic product. The need and potential for educating these shoppers is clear.

However, the results may not come quickly. Less than half of shoppers are aware of the widespread efforts to cross-merchandise other products with meat, and the use of meal suggestions is even lower, despite shoppers' continued complaints about their lack of time or menu ideas.

Some other key findings from this special study are:

Helping the Industry Determine "What's Next?"

The pace of life is faster than ever. Time-strapped consumers seek convenience, but demand value. Marketers have more data than ever - retail tracking, consumer purchases, loyalty cards, advertising information, to name just a few. Our world is also changing. Leading economic countries are aging, and younger, more diverse populations are growing in markets around the world.

We in the industry have become pretty good at understanding what is happening today. We can look at past consumer behavior and product movement, we can segment consumers and shopping trips, we can look at underlying changes to demographics and product mix. But more and more, our clients are asking us a key question: "What's Next?"

How will retailing evolve? How will technology help us - and hinder us in the future? What will consumers want and need from me? How can I anticipate - and create - the next big thing?

Next month, professionals will have the opportunity to discover what will be next at the Consumer 360 conference. Many of you already know that Consumer 360 is the #1 marketing information event for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. In 2005, more than 1,000 industry professionals attended, and we anticipate an even greater show this year. Our past attendees have told us what they liked and what they'd like to see more of, and we have delivered.

Speakers from Coca-Cola, Royal Ahold, SUPERVALU and Unilever, are a few examples of industry leaders who will be headlining our main stage. Noted futurist Andrew Zolli will definitely give us a taste of What's Next in our industry. We also have the pleasure of welcoming Facts, Figures & the Future's own Phil Lempert, who will lead a panel discussion with area consumers, live, during the show.

And the keynote presentations are just the beginning. Past attendees know that the value in attending Consumer 360 is in the workshops, which provide real-world examples and case studies of business issues and how to solve them. The workshops will cover consumer trends, retail trends, marketing efficiencies, effective targeting and in-store execution.

This year, we have expanded our learning tracks by adding "Super Sessions," with clients and third-party participation for more in-depth study, interaction and learning.

We are also bringing back, by popular demand, the Express Coaching booth, sponsored by the Network of Executive Women (NEW). These complimentary 30-minute sessions for both men and women feature Express Coaching Sessions led by renowned personal coaches. Participants will gain feedback and advice on how to improve their business skills to contribute more to their organization and establish themselves as a leader.

Consumer 360 will take place May 16-18 at the J.W. Marriott in Palm Desert, California. If you have not done so, please visit www.Consumer360.com to see great conference we have put together. If you are interested, please register soon - Our earlybird discounts end April 17.

We all look forward to seeing you there and discovering What's Next for our industry!