The restaurant chain, previously best-known for its rotisserie chicken, introduced 5-ounce and 8-ounce lean steak entrées, a BBQ Sirloin and Cheddar deli-sliced carver sandwich and a Sirloin Dip carver sandwich at its 630 locations across the United States in June, in a joint promotion with the national Beef Checkoff Program.

The partnership between Boston Market and the Beef Checkoff Program was initiated on behalf of the Cattlemen’s Beef Board and state beef councils by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). The NCBA serves as one of the Beef Board’s contractors for checkoff-funded programs.

The USDA Choice top sirloin steak entrées mark a breakthrough in the fast-casual segment of the restaurant industry, appealing to customers both in terms of taste and nutrition. The 5-ounce steak contains only 275 calories and 10 grams of fat, while the 8-ounce steak contains just 445 calories and 16 grams of fat. Customers are responding in a big way, says Trey Hall, chief brand officer for Boston Market. 

“The sirloin entrées performed extremely well in test markets, so we expected them to be very popular with our customers,” Hall said. “We weren’t disappointed. The new sirloin menu items have exceeded our forecasts. Customers are voting with their wallets.”

Hall added that within the third week of its introduction, sirloin had reached double digits in terms of overall product mix across the Boston Market system, making it one of Boston Market’s best new product deployments in the 20 years it has been in business.

The success of the Boston Market partnership is great news for beef producers on several important levels, according to Sid Sumner, a Florida cattle producer and chairman of the checkoff’s Joint Foodservice Committee.

“While Boston Market’s business has been mostly centered on poultry, this venture has shown the value of adding high-quality beef items to the menu,” Sumner said. “And fast casual is such an important and rapidly growing segment of the restaurant industry. It caters to busy families that want quality meals that offer nutrition, convenience and value. To grow beef demand, we have to make sure that beef is well-represented in this sector of the foodservice industry.”

Foodservice partnerships have proven to be an efficient marketing tool for beef producers, offering wide exposure for beef items for a relatively small investment of beef checkoff dollars. In fact, during the three years through 2004, the checkoff allocated a total of about $2 million in checkoff funding to foodservice partnerships, while the restaurant partners invested more than $122.7 million - or more than $60 for every checkoff dollar invested.

”When we can capitalize on the visibility and popularity of a partner like Boston Market and help put more beef items on the menu, producers get a great return on their checkoff dollar,” said Cattlemen’s Beef Board Chairman Al Svajgr, a beef producer from Cozad, Neb.