Marketing Targets

Food with a Face (Relationship Marketing)
According to the International Food Information Council, the desire by consumers to know and understand more about their food is fueling an explosion of available food information. The organization studied articles regarding diet and food safety news issued by 39 print, broadcast and online media over a three-month period in 1999. The results were staggering. Some 1,260 nutrition, health and food safety stories appeared during the three months reviewed in 1999, a 53 percent growth over the same study conducted in 1997, and a 31 percent growth over the 1995 study.

Now more than ever, consumers want to know more about the how their food was produced and how it was processed prior to purchase. It apparently is comforting to consumers to feel a sense of relationship with the individuals who actually produce and handle their food. The image of a humble man and his donkey gathering hand picked coffee beans one-at-a-time (a recent advertising image for a major coffee company) garners mass consumer favor. If you can put a face with your food product and create a sustainable image that favorably connects your consumer to you or your group, you can develop a relationship that will foster brand loyalty and repeat business. This is a special area of demand that remains under-served in the food market.

Prestige Marketing
In certain markets, there are merit perceptions among consumers that can be tapped to realize added value in products. Many people find it desirable to buy something “different” or in some way special. It may be the idea of bragging rights or just being the one to introduce others to something new or different. There may also be an element of discovery that can be tapped. Certainly, the idea that the product is a cut above mainstream fare has an appeal. In part, this comes from a need in many consumers to underscore their ability to make great choices.

Instead of agreeing to pay regular market price for a “very good” piece of beef, a consumer may instead choose to pay extra for meat products that are marketed as succulent, tender, gourmet, outstanding, hand-cut, perfectly aged, incredibly juicy, tasty, tastier, tastiest, tender, beefy, meaty, flavorful, firm, well-marbled, robust and/or delicious. Those are among words two established specialty meat marketers are currently using to sell mail order packages of four 10-ounce filets for $65.00 and four 16-ounce T-Bones for $83.00. Shipping and postage not included.

Serving the Server
A growing segment of the food service sector is a phenomenon called “personal chefs.” The service caters (literally) to busy people who do not prefer to invest their time fixing a meal. Increasingly, there is not a member of a household who wants to cook or feels competent to do it well. Hence, services are springing up that help these people create special menus, then actually come into the home at scheduled times to prepare and serve the final dishes.

Where this could fit the smaller meat marketer is in hooking products and services to the personal chef. It could be as simple as being a quick call, quick response provider of always fresh, always tender products, thereby saving the chef a trip to a market. Customers would know you and the quality of your goods. The chef would benefit from an expanded possibility of marketing to prestige levels using “food with a face” and the producer benefits from the endorsement of the personal chef.

The whole concept of “serving the server” is built on the idea of how to utilize marketing people and organizations that already exist. Doing so provides a way for the producer owned enterprise to get more “feet on the street” without payroll expense. In fact, this facilitates selling product and potentially working an additional service fee into the transaction. This type of approach fosters expansion of product volume more quickly than the direct in-house marketing approach. It also keeps costs lower, which results in added flexibility.

Solution Marketing
The traditional view of solution marketing in food would certainly include the home meal replacement (HMR). With the surge in households having all adult members working outside the home there is more emphasis on time management, particularly by the female member of the household. Studies continue to show the female is the primary decision-maker on food purchasing. Those decisions are leaning toward convenience, including fast, heat-and-serve entrees and complete meals. This is an area of growth for beef even though it already owns the center of the plate. The challenge is to create beefbased meal options that are attractive,tasty and work well in less than 20 minutes.

Two options for the beef marketer are obvious. First, one could become a specialty supplier to a company that has a brand and marketplace slotting already in place. This is the high volume, low margin and short run approach to moving beef. Keep in mind, if the target companies already have beef suppliers, the challenge is to somehow replace them through service, price or quality.

The second option is to create product and brand, then enter the retail market directly. This approach brings much higher margin but will certainly be slower to build volume. There are substantial costs involved in creating brand identity, as well as high costs in packaging and labeling in the early stages because volume will be low. There will also be the need to compete for shelf space at retail, such as slotting fees paid to the store. To some extent, fees are negotiable.

Personal chefs and standard catering are also forms of solution marketing. In those situations, the extra service a company provides is the large value item in the equation.

In a similar vein, the old idea of the lunch wagon at a factory parking lot or office complex is still quite viable. In fact, the idea of offering ready-to-heat-and-eat meals to workers as they exit the parking lot for home could be very well received. Most workers do not think about the evening meal until late in the day. The idea of stopping at the grocery or getting home to face the evening chore is not always a favorable one, so the opportunity is there to provide the solution through their car window as they leave. Among high beef user demographic groups, this could be an ideal place to offer beef entrees.

Ethnic Marketing
As you look for ways to sell the “whole set” of products coming from the market animal it is important to take a really hard look at other cultures and the ways of their countries for outlets. Eating habits and tastes are closely tied to family customs and local/regional norms. This is known as marketing to the learned responses of your consumer. In order to target these types of markets, it is important to gain a full understanding of the preferences and practices of the groups you hope to win over as new customers.