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The Results Are In For The 2007 National Meat Cast Study
In the first quarter of 2007, an audit known as the National Meat Case Study (NCMS) was conducted to get a better understanding of changes occurring in meat cases across the nation. The audit was carried out by Sealed Air’s Cyrovac Food Packaging, The Beef Checkoff and the National Pork Board while additional support was given by Texas Tech University and 1st Stage Marketing who collected and analyzed the data, respectively.
The 2007 NCMS results were compared to the results of 2002 and 2004 studies to provide a benchmark for changes that have occurred. The study spanned to over 120 supermarkets and ten club stores in 34 states. Over 157,000 packages of meat, equating to over 281,000 pounds, were reviewed and captured in the study.
Some of the key findings of the 2007 National Meat Case Study are outlined below. When reviewing the results, note that the conditions of the economy at the time of the study may affect the results. The consumer price index had increased relative to 2006. The economy was strong, even with the high cost of gasoline and food.
Fresh meat gained back its share of the meat case
• Fresh meat had lost some of the self-serve linear feet to non-fresh meat back in 2004
• The share of heat and serve, value added and non-meat items was consistent to the 2004 results
• The results of non-fresh meat items was stable, however, the percentage of retailers carrying non-fresh meat items increased from 81% in 2004 to 100% in 2007
• Fresh beef, pork and chicken, combined, take up 88% of linear feet, which is a decrease of 3% from the 2004 results due to an increase in turkey and lamb
Full service meat cases slightly increased
• 79% of the stores surveyed had full service meat cases
• Full service meat cases accounted for 7% of linear feet in the meat department, which is a 1% increase
• Seafood is still number one with its share of full service space
Value added packages continue to grow
• Value added products increased by 4 percentage points (up to 10%) of fresh meat products
• Fresh pork, turkey and beef drove the increase in value added products
o Fresh pork increased by 11 percent (up to 23% of fresh pork)
o Turkey increased by 5 percent (up to 19% of turkey packages)
o Beef increased by 3 percent (up to 7% of beef products)
• Pork accounted for 42% of value added, while beef came in at 30% and chicken at 16%
Natural packages grew
• Natural packages increased to 29%, up from 22% in 2004
• Chicken led the way at 67% of natural products, while ground beef’s share came in at 25% and fresh pork at 15%
• 54% of the natural packages claimed to be “All Natural” while 25% claimed to be “100% Natural”
Enhanced packages declined by 2%
• Due to a decrease in non-flavored moisture added packages, enhanced packages declined 2 percentage points to 19% of total packages
• The flavor-added portion of enhanced packages increased to 7% from 5% in 2004, mostly due to an increase in fresh pork
Nutritional labeling on packages is rising
• Nutrition labeling has increased significantly over the past five years. In 2007, 57% of packages contained nutrition labeling, up from 44% in 2004 and 34% in 2002
• Chicken had the highest increase followed by fresh pork, turkey, ground beef and whole muscle beef
Store brands gained package share
• Store brands accounted for 23% of products, which is a significant gain after a loss in 2004 with only 12% of products
• Supplier branding was steady from 2004 to 2007 with half of all products containing a supplier label
• For the first time, the majority of beef was branded at 51%
Case ready representation continues to grow
• The amount of case ready packages has significantly increased from less than 50% in 2002 to 64% in 2007
• While lamb, veal and fresh pork increased by the greatest amount, poultry still leads the way
Meat case audits are important in that they provide insights on how retail meat cases are changing over time. They also help determine if consumers’ needs and desires are determining what’s in the meat case, or if it is the retail supermarkets that are shaping what consumers buy, due to their stocking practices. Based on the research, it appears that both have had an affect on the meat case.
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