The Beef Industry’s New Products Initiatives

Authors

Renee Lloyd, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Denver, CO

Date of this Version

December 2001

Comments

Published for Proceedings, The Range Beef Cow Symposium XVII December 11, 12, and 13, 2001 - Casper, Wyoming.

Abstract

A major goal of the Beef Industry Long Range Plan is to provide beef products that meet consumers’ desires for convenience and value. For many years, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has provided industry leadership for the development of new beef products that fit consumers’ expectations and lifestyles. Producers, manufacturers and consumers have responded to these initiatives, and in the last three years sales of these types of beef products have increased by more than 40 percent.

In the past consumers have not always considered beef a convenient product. In fact, while many in the beef industry thought ground beef and steaks were excellent examples of "convenience," recent introductions of pre-cooked ground beef crumbles and heat-and-eat steaks show that consumers have different values in that area.

The beef industry's major thrust to encourage greater attention on new beef products was started back in the mid-1990s, when the industry supported research into new products that could be introduced to add value to under-utilized cuts. Beefeatas™ and RiteBite™ Steaks, two checkoff-supported products, provided new "points of entry" into the appetizer and quick-service sandwich markets. These two products increased the value of cuts typically converted for ground beef.