BEEF MADE EASY GOES GLOBAL

DENVER, CO (July 27, 2000) –– The beef industry’s checkoff-funded retail campaign “Beef Made Easy” recently achieved international status.  The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA) has rolled out “Beef Made Easy” to all foreign and domestic American military commissaries.

“Beef Made Easy,” makes shopping for beef easier by grouping fresh beef by cooking method and providing on-pack cooking instructions.  Color-coding merchandising tools and consumer brochures give the meat case a consumer-friendly feel and help with in-store execution.

DeCA operates a worldwide chain of 290 commissaries, providing groceries as a benefit to approximately 11.7 million military personnel, retirees and their families. At the commissaries, shoppers enjoy savings ranging from 25 to 30 percent on their purchases.

The commissaries move nearly 116 million pounds of USDA Choice beef annually, with an average of 399,582 pounds per store.  Because military’s fast-paced lifestyle demands convenience, DeCA implemented “Beef Made Easy” as an added value for all military personnel to better help them shop for and prepare fresh beef.

“We were impressed with the concept and methodology of the program,” said Jack Fowler, manager of meat operations, Marketing Business Unit, Field Operating Activities for DeCA.  “We also noted that civilian supermarkets that embraced this program had reported substantial increases in meat sales.”

Russell Woodward, marketing manager for the Texas Beef Council, presented “Beef Made Easy” at a worldwide zone manager’s conference in the summer of 1999.

In surveys, 65 percent of shoppers have said “Beef Made Easy” improved their perception of the retailer’s product quality.  Nearly six in 10 shoppers said they would be more likely to purchase a beef item if preparation instructions were included on the package.  And, approximately 20 percent of shoppers who noticed the new case set bought a beef item they hadn’t purchased before.  Of those, eight in 10 were satisfied with the cooking instructions.

With the help of state beef councils, “Beef Made Easy” is picking up steam in retail chains nationwide.  Since its launch in April 1999, several leading retailers including The Kroger Co., Safeway and A&P have rolled-out the concept in their stores.

Many other participating retailers are reporting positive sales results.  One Midwestern retailer saw a 9.8 percent increase in beef sales since implementing its customized “Beef Made Easy” program over six months ago.  Beef pounds also increased 3.5 percent during the same measurement period.

In another checkoff-funded partnership, the beef industry helped a major Northwestern retailer reorganize its entire fresh meat case (including beef, poultry, pork and seafood) by cooking method.  Total fresh meat sales for this retailer increased 15.2 percent nine months after implementation, and beef sales rose 14.8 percent during the same period.

“‘Beef Made Easy’ works because it markets beef the way consumers shop,” said Perry Teeter, a beef producer from Mooresville, N.C. and chairman of the beef industry`s Retail Committee. “They think about what meals they’ll be serving their families, not which cuts of meat.  The preparation instructions on every pack helps consumers expand the range of cuts they normally buy and feel good about repeat purchase.”

While it is too early to measure the program’s progress in the U.S. commissaries, DeCA has high expectations it will be a success and will monitor closely all results, according to Fowler.

Beef industry marketing efforts are funded by beef producers through their $1-per-head checkoff program and are managed for the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.  The national beef checkoff is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board.  This 110-member board is appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to oversee the collection of the $1-per-head checkoff, certify state beef councils, implement the provisions of the Federal Order establishing the checkoff and evaluate the effectiveness of checkoff programs.

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Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the National Cattlemen`s Beef Association is the  trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the  marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.