Contact:            Diane Henderson           303/850-3465                dhenderson@beef.org

                        Polly Ruhland                303/850-3394                pruhland@beef.org

                        Natalie Carter                334/673-9893                ncarter@beef.org

BEEF FLAT IRON STEAK PROMOTION WITH KROGER

HELPS NEW PRODUCTS GAIN MOMENTUM AT RETAIL

Checkoff-Funded Research, Promotion Partnership Boost Beef Value Cut

DENVER (Feb. 3, 2006) –  The Flat Iron Steak – one of the beef industry’s most popular new products – is gaining momentum in the retail meat case. That momentum is demonstrated by a checkoff-funded promotion and product launch with Kroger last summer, which has added more energy to the campaign to put more Beef Value Cuts into supermarkets nationwide. A report of the promotion was presented at the 2006 Cattle Industry Convention & Trade Show in Denver this week.

Checkoff-funded carcass and new product research helped identify Beef Value Cuts in the late 1990s.  Those cuts, which include the Flat Iron steak, produce steak from tender cuts traditionally undervalued. 

Kroger is one of the nation’s largest supermarket chains. It debuted the Flat Iron steak in 116 Houston-area stores in late July, producing a tremendous response from customers. Among the features of this promotion were 25 metro billboards displayed over eight weeks, as well as 265 two-day product demonstrations at 88 Kroger stores. More than 50,000 product samples were distributed during the demonstrations.

In addition to the above promotions, on-pack labeling, Hispanic outreach and an extensive public relations campaign were conducted. The national Beef Checkoff Program, Texas Beef Council and Tyson Foods partnered with Kroger for this effort.

 “Retail visibility of the Flat Iron steak is a critical element of its success,” said Cattlemen’s Beef Board member Virginia Coelho, a beef producer from Fremont, Calif. and chairman of the Joint Retail Committee. “Its roll-out in one of the nation’s largest supermarket chains will mean a lot to how quickly the product catches on at retail. We’re excited about having a chance like this to showcase this value-enhancing beef product to more American consumers.”

The Joint Retail Committee is reviewing checkoff-funded efforts like the Kroger Flat Iron promotion during its meeting at the Cattle Industry Convention this week. The Cattlemen’s Beef Board and Federation of State Beef Councils will also meet in general sessions on Saturday, Feb. 4, to review all checkoff-funded research, information and promotion programs.

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The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.