Beef Demand Climbs Five Percent In 2003

Consumer demand for beef continued a strong upward climb in 2003, with the Beef Demand Index increasing more than 5 percent compared to 2002 and more than 15.4 percent since reversing its 20-year decline in 1998, the Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) announced during the recent Cattle Industry Annual Convention in Phoenix.  The Beef Demand Index is a reflection of the combination of per capita consumption and consumer spending for beef.

"With the continued strength in demand in 2003, we've surpassed the goal of the beef industry's long range plan to increase demand by 6 percent between 2000 and year-end 2004 – and we've done it a year early," said Nelson Curry, newly elected Chairman of the CBB and beef producer from Paris, Ky.   “Looking ahead, this is good news for cattlemen and the beef industry as we plan to build on our efforts and continue this success."

"The increase in beef demand can be attributed to a number of factors," said Jan Lyons, newly elected President of the NCBA and beef producer from Manhattan, Kan.  "In addition to the media attention created from protein diets, there is generally better consumer understanding about the positive nutritional profile of beef.  What’s more there are many new beef products in the marketplace along with additional resources about beef for consumers, including the checkoff’s BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com Web site.” 

Nutrition Awareness

In building beef demand, the $1-per-head Beef Checkoff Program focuses beef's role in meeting the nutritional demands of today's health-conscious consumers.  Americans are rediscovering the nutritional benefits of beef due to a better understanding of beef’s nutritional role in the diet.

New government data shows there are 19 cuts of beef that meet government guidelines for lean.  These lean cuts contain less than 10 grams of total fat, 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per serving, and include some of America’s favorites such as tenderloin, T-bone steak and 95 percent lean ground beef.  Research also shows calorie for calorie beef is one of the most naturally nutrient-rich foods. 

The checkoff program’s nutrition print ads, launched last year, show a delicious lean beef meal and deliver the message that lean beef has only one more gram of saturated fat than a comparable 3-ounce serving of skinless chicken breast - yet packs a nutritional punch with eight times more vitamin B12, six times more zinc and three times more iron.

New Product Development

The $1-per-head checkoff program also enables the industry to research and introduce new beef products into the marketplace.  In fact, since the checkoff began focusing on new product development efforts about five years ago, about 1,600 new beef products have come to market, providing more options for consumers at their local restaurants and grocery stores.  It has been critical to get products out there that appeal to consumer demand for convenience, variety, versatility and nutrition.

Promotion of new beef products by the private sector also is playing into the demand equation.  More than 800 restaurants and five new retailers have sold six million steaks developed by the checkoff-funded new product development team known as the R&D Ranch.  These include the Flat Iron, Shoulder Tender and Ranch Cut, which consumers can find at the LoneStar Steakhouse, Humperdink’s, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., and in a growing number of meat cases around the nation.

www.BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com

To complement its popular “Beef It’s What’s For Dinner” advertising, the Beef Checkoff Program launched its consumer-friendly Web site, www.BeefItsWhatsForDinner.com, in 2003 in an effort to provide a helpful resource for consumers to find beef recipes, nutrition and safety information and expert insight on beef shopping and cookery.  The site, which received nearly 150,000 hits on the eve of one of the most popular days for beef fans – Super Bowl Sunday – allows the beef industry to communicate directly with consumers and provide them information about their favorite protein.

Consumer Education and Confidence

The recent BSE case in the U.S. underscores the importance of consumer education about food safety.  And while the presence of BSE in this country has resulted in increased consumer awareness about the disease, recent consumer surveys indicate consumers have received the information they need to understand that the beef supply in the United States remains the safest in the world.  In fact, a checkoff-funded tracking survey conducted by an independent research firm on February 12, 2004, found that 91 percent of consumers remain confident in the safety of U.S. beef with consumer awareness of BSE/mad cow disease at 94 percent.