During the 25 plus years I spent at two major retailers as a corporate dietitian, I witnessed a growing shopper interest in the nutritional value of food and how food choices could affect personal health. Unfortunately, I also saw growing confusion as information about food, both accurate and often inaccurate, flowed through social media channels. Beef is one of the foods where conflicting information often leaves shoppers confused. Although they know it tastes delicious, shoppers wonder if beef also delivers the nutrition attributes they are seeking. The answer is yes, and I want to share why now is the opportune time to communicate facts about the nutritional benefits of beef with shoppers to drive sales:
- The meat department is the most influential point of differentiation for driving grocery store sales and traffic, as well as the most influential department for driving store brand loyalty – and beef alone represents 50.1% of this department’s sales.2
- Marketing beef is key to grocery retailers’ bottom lines and, as health and wellness becomes an increasingly important value in food purchase decisions, highlighting beef’s nutritional benefits can inspire shoppers to visit the beef case.
- Providing educational messages around beef’s unique nutritional profile provides a marketing advantage that can position the beef case as providing a variety of healthy meal solutions for shoppers and their families and help dispel common misperceptions about beef.
How to Tap Beef’s Unique Marketing Advantage: Nutrition Benefits
Start by getting into the shopper mindset and provide nutrition tips and meal options that empower shoppers with easy, seasonal solutions. For example, September is when most families resume a back-to-school routine and it’s also Family Meals Month® - a perfect time to promote nourishing, family-friendly meals with beef. In 2017, Kroger encouraged shoppers to “beef up on the benefits of protein” during Family Meals Month. The Little Clinic®, located in select Kroger locations, distributed “Lean Beef: Packed with Protein” booklets to every patient during the month of September. The booklets contained information on the nutritional benefits of beef along with easy to prepare beef recipes. The program was successful in driving consumer engagement with in-store education and through social media, and about 70,000 booklets were distributed to shoppers and The Little Clinic patients. Kroger also received industry recognition by being named the FMI Foundation’s 2017 Gold Plate Award Winner in the 200+ stores category.
Arming Your Team With Beef Nutrition Knowledge
Another way to ensure your store is benefiting from marketing beef’s nutritional attributes is by encouraging meat department team members to offer meaningful messages around beef’s protein and nutrient package. Employees can then assist shoppers with choosing the right cuts of beef for delicious recipes, while encouraging them to use the mobile-optimized Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. The benefit and experience of shopping in the fresh departments of a store can be a big draw especially when an engaged team member talks about the nutritional benefits of beef while providing seasonal cooking tips and recipes. You may also choose to partner with your state Beef Council, local health influencers or your own retail dietitians to provide an educational beef case tour. One resource to consider is a new educational module “Shopper Guidance in the Beef Case: From Confusion to Confidence.”
The positive nutrition messages about beef also complement your health and wellness promotions and can be tailored for your core demographic. For example, Hy-Vee promoted the importance of beef as a first food that provides infants, children and adolescents a unique bundle of nutrients for a strong start. The information was shared through media/social media activation and in-store signage indicating lean beef as a “Dietitian’s Pick” with “did you know?” facts on beef’s nutritional value. In-store displays provided relevant information along with meal kits and sampling. Results indicated a double-digit increase in sales and in units sold.
There are many meaningful ways to tout the nutritional attributes of beef, educate shoppers and drive sales in the beef case, namely:
- Provide beef nutrition resources to shoppers during key marketing periods
- Arm your team with talking points on beef’s nutrition profile
- Tie beef nutrition marketing into your health and wellness promotions
To learn more be sure to register for our upcoming complimentary webinar, Beef’s Strength Benefits and Retail Nutrition Marketing, on July 26th, 2018.
1 Progressive Grocer Market Research
2IRI/Freshlook, Total US, 52 Weeks ending 12/31/17; Categorized by VMMeat System: data point excludes seafood