Campaign Aims to “Beef Up” Smaller Fares

Cattle producers have extended an away-from-home campaign that demonstrates that even those eating less can still enjoy beef.

Funded through $1-per-head checkoff program, the ‘BEEFlexible” campaign shows restaurant operators how they can serve flexible-sized portions that allow their patrons to enjoy the beef tastes they expect.

The campaign is being coordinated on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA).

“Some restaurant diners who want to eat a less filling meal don’t think of beef as an option – but it should be,” says Sid Sumner, a beef producer from Bartow, Fla., and chair of the checkoff-funded Joint Foodservice Committee.  “Our campaign demonstrates that there are wonderful beef items that are perfect for those dining occasions that call for limited consumption.”

The checkoff-funded “BEEFlexible” campaign features beef value cuts to showcase smaller fare.  For example, in one campaign brochure cuts from the chuck and round are used to showcase contemporary recipes ideal “for small plates.”  Cheese Steak Spiedini, Steak and Potato Tempura and Sugarcane Steak Sticks are made from the new flat iron steak, for instance, and show how value can be enhanced in these underutilized cuts.

The campaign was begun in 2002 with six different ads placed in prominent national foodservice trade publications such as Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurants & Institutions and Food Arts.   Recipe cards from all six dishes have been made available to operators responding to the ad.  Preliminary results show that requests for materials have increased.  In addition, there has been a 58 percent increase in visits to the industry’s foodservice Web site, which also features the ads.

This year the campaign is being expanded with ads that feature the “Petite Tender” from the shoulder, joining ads for the Flat Iron and Ranch-Cut steaks in rotation throughout the year.

The ads and recipes are targeted at small independent restaurants, where many trends and innovations in the foodservice industry start.  Among the audience are decision makers, R&D chefs, marketing and business executives, distributors and sales representatives.

“The industry will never abandon steaks and burgers,” says Sumner.  “But beef does need to increase its visibility on restaurant menus, as well as take the price pressure off of high end steaks and other middle meats.  This campaign helps us do that.”

The national beef checkoff is administered by the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, with oversight from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This 108-member board is appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to oversee 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.