Meat&Poultry - April 2011 - 78

Packaging Technology

Consumer-driven
Buying trends at the meat case are influencing changes in meat packaging
BY KIMBERLIE CLYMA
kclyma@sosland.com

etailers have to keep consumers top-of-mind during every purchasing and merchandising decision. This is the case storewide, but mostly in the perishables departments including meat. Retailers have to consider what products to carry and how much; how to price the products; how to display the product mix; and what kind of packaging is necessary. Last fall, results from the 2010 National Meat Case Study (NMCS)

Retailers and suppliers are continuing to adapt their meat cases to meet the constant changes in consumer demand.
were released and showed significant changes have taken place in the retail meat case since the last study, which took place in 2007. Funded by Sealed Air’s Cryovac brand, The Beef Checkoff program and the National Pork Board, this is the fourth audit in this research series that provides retailers and processors information about meat merchandising trends. The NMCS audit included information

from 124 retail supermarkets and nine club stores in 51 metro markets across 31 states on various days and at random times. Researchers from Texas Tech Univ. conducted the bulk of the data collection, and First Stage Marketing provided data analysis. Areas showing the most significant changes in the 2010 audit included an increase in store branding, an increase in consumer information on packaging and continued growth in case-ready products. The results show retailers and suppliers continue to adapt their meat cases to meet consumer demand. Attendees at this spring’s 2011 Meat Conference in Dallas heard the results from the NMCS in addition to results from the sixth annual Power of Meat study, conducted by 210 Analytics LLC. This study surveyed 1,200 shoppers to fi nd out about shopping trends, opinions on meat merchandising, knowledge of meat and poultry preparation and the impact of the recession on their purchasing decisions.

Economic impact
How the economy has affected and will continue to affect the retail channel re-

mains on the minds of everyone in the industry. Even with signs of a recovery, retailers and consumers are continuing to take a conservative approach. “There’s still a lot of in-home meal preparation going on, and foodservice is continuing to struggle to build traffic and sales,” says Jerry Kelly, national retail account manager for Sealed Air’s Cryovac brand. According to Anne-Marie Roerink, principal and founder of 210 Analytics LLC, the Power of Meat study showed that shoppers are averaging five home-cooked meals a week (four of which contain meat or poultry as a center-of-the-plate item). However, because of the economic pressures, consumers are doing more than just eating at home to save money. With 31 percent of households earning less than they did the prior year, food spending overall is down among those negatively affected by the recession. Price per pound continues to be the top reason consumers purchase particular items in the meat department. However, there has been a decrease in the amount of bulk packages bought at retail. Bulk packages are typically

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