Leading marketer says the industry must meet the challenge to keep meat on the menu

The challenge facing the meat industry is to create meat products that taste fantastic, deliver sound health and nutritional benefits and are presented in a format convenient for a wide variety of eating occasions, Alison Haselgrove, Dawn Group Development Manager, told delegates to the 52nd International Congress on Meat Science and Technology in Dublin today (Thursday, August 17th, 2006).

This is because attitudinal research shows that consumers believe that the most tasty food is likely to be the most unhealthy and that healthy foods will be lacking in taste.

In 2006 the market value of meat products in Europe alone is 20.5 billion euros.

Meat faces higher levels of challenge than other foodstuffs, she said, but consumers who do eat meat have strong views that meat is a key source of good nutrition. However, for every positive message the meat industry receives, there is potential for consumer backlash.

If meat is to stay on the menu for contemporary consumers, it needs to adapt and present itself as a relevant and desirable constituent of modern diets.

The "4Ps" of marketing meat are palatability, portability, preservation and profitability, she said, while convenience, health and wellbeing and indulgence or personal satisfaction are the mega-trends that influence consumers' food choices in Europe and the US.

"Convenience is becoming an overworked term, but at its core is a desire by consumers to seek out products which effectively and efficiently allow them to juggle the multiple tasks that they have to accomplish in the day and to fulfil their desire to increase the time they have for the priorities in their lives. Unless we in the meat supply chain cater to consumers' desire to eat meat in more convenient formats, then our part in the meal selection will diminish in both relevance and volume," she said.

We increasingly are eating in less formal situations, as is seen in the rise of phenomena such as SAD "stuck at desk, nicknamed Al Desko eating" or eating in the car "Dash Board Dining". These trends and research in the US that shows that lunch is skipped by 58 per cent of consumers in favour of on-the-go alternatives point to how the meat industry must adapt.

The "repertoire shop" is the new shopping experience, where customers load their trolleys with a selection of items they know the family will eat and then mix and match them ad hoc to pull a meal together.

And the industry's challenge will be to ensure the consistent eating quality of meat in an environment that is demanding reduced or even additive-free products.

"Our brands must only make those claims that consumers find credible, engaging and relevant to their lives today. Our reputations must go before us, building trust and securing consumer confidence. With the skill, the expertise and enthusiasm we have within the industry, we will be more than capable of keeping meat securely on the menu in the years ahead," she said.