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Innovations In Beef
There are so many pieces that must come together when launching new beef products. Of course there is a great deal of research and development, complemented by work with the USDA, beef packers and processors, foodservice operators and retailers. But first we must gauge consumer acceptance and purchasers interest in a new product.
One very effective way of finding out whether a consumer enjoys, values (and is willing to pay for this value), and adds these new products into ongoing purchases is through an in-home use test (IHUT). In a nutshell, an IHUT takes new products and investigates how these products do in a “real life” setting.
Three new chuck cuts – Denver Cut, America’s Beef Roast and Country-Style Beef Chuck Ribs – recently went through an IHUT in four cities (Atlanta, Dallas, San Francisco and Chicago) with 50 consumers in each market. We also followed this research with two focus groups of medium and heavy beef users.
Key findings include:
The Denver Cut
• Exceeded good product norms on the most important product
attributes (appearance, taste, flavor, juiciness and preparation ease)
• Ease of preparation makes this a likely candidate for both weekend and weekday dinners
• Tested as well as the previous launch of value cuts (Flat Iron, Petite Tender, Ranch Steak)
• Demonstrated high purchase intent
• Exhibited strong grocery store and casual dining restaurant potential
Boneless Country-Style Beef Chuck Ribs
• Received good scores on the major product attributes, especially
tenderness; on most attributes, these ribs rated higher than the ribs
most often eaten by participants
• Displayed the most potential of the three products tested, gaining share from other proteins
• Exhibited strong grocery store and family-style restaurant potential
America’s Beef Roast
• Rated high on freshness, color, smell while cooking, and ease of preparation
• Flavor was the top reason for preference of this product
• Shorter preparation time (1.5 hours) was a major benefit versus other roasts
• Performed better than the other everyday roasts (Chuck Roasts) currently being offered to consumers
The data just arrived at NCBA this month and our analysts are still diving into the details. Stay tuned for more information and please contact Jim Ethridge with any questions at jethridge@beef.org.
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