Supermarket Perimeter - November 2019 - 35

Sustainability
benefits
how packers are utilizing animals in a respectful way that has a real
sustainability impact."
As Hinton points out, one-third of the food produced globally is
wasted - enough to feed 3 billion people. Sustainability, she says, is
more important than ever. While nose-to-tail has been a common practice for packers, consumers are just starting to learn how sustainable
the practice is, especially when all parts of the carcass are utilized.
"Sustainability isn't a trend or a passing fad for consumers," Hinton
says. "It's the future."

Following foodservice's lead
Some of the more common nose-to-tail items at retail, Hinton says, are
products that consumers were able to experience ﬁrst in foodservice
and then replicate at home.
When a consumer has a great eating experience of, say, bone marrow at a restaurant, they may look to re-create this dish at home. Other
popular nose-to-tail items include tripe, oxtail, cheek meat, pigs' feet,
lamb necks, marrow, and bones. Bone broths are also readily available
in meat cases today.
Nose-to-tail dovetails nicely, Hinton says, with the contemporary
consumer's interest in natural products. "Nose-to-tail is an excellent
source of natural products - sausage casings, for example."
And don't forget, she adds, the adventurous culinary spirit of many
modern-day shoppers. Take "Protein Progressives," a category of meat
eaters identiﬁed in the recently completed second edition of Midan's
meat consumer segmentation research.
These are consumers who are adventurous, willing to try new cuts
of meat. Protein Progressives are particularly interested in replicating
dishes at home for friends and family after trying something out of the
ordinary at a restaurant.
"They will seek out unique cuts of meat, even if that means going to
an ethnic grocery store with a wider selection to ﬁnd the less-common
nose-to-tail cuts," Hinton says.

Cuts like tripe
appeal to "Protein
Progressives," a
growing category
of adventurous
meat eaters.

To successfully market lesscommon products like nose-totail cuts to consumers, education
is key, Hinton says. Providing
recipe cards or having a butcher
available to speak about cooking
tips for these unique cuts of meat
will make consumers more likely
to try these different products.
The most important part of them,
she says, is showing people how
to prepare them, which takes
away the intimidation of buying
a product that may be outside of
their comfort zone.

A growing category

Chefs and eaters alike
have started viewing
their consumption
through the lens of
sustainability. As the
global population grows
and demand for food
rises, people are looking
for ways to grow more
food and contribute
less waste. Eating
these typically unused
parts of the animal
may make sense from
that point of view.
According to the Food
and Agriculture
Organization (FAO)
of the United Nations,
one-third of all food
produced is wasted.
They highlight that "food
losses represent a waste
of resources used in
production such as land,
water, energy and inputs,
increasing the green
gas emissions in vain."

Midan expects the demand for
nose-to-tail products to continue
to grow.
One reason? Continued
increased demand for cuisines
from around the world, many
of which are more adventurous when it comes to cuts,
Hinton says.
"Ethnic dishes are more popular than ever. Meat-eaters are
interested in trying new ethnic
ﬂavors, and many of these dishes
It takes 441 gallons of
require nose-to-tail products,
water to produce one
such as tripe for menudo, a poppound of boneless beef.
ular Mexican soup."
It is important to get the
Once Protein Progressives
most out of each animal,
try products that are exciting
so the inputs needed to
and out of the ordinary, then
produce food, such as
prepare them themselves at
water and energy, are
home, they want to post photos
used to feed as many
on Instagram to share with their
people as possible.
friends, Hinton says.
Source: The International Food Information
Council Foundation
"Consumers are also getting
inspiration from great eating
experiences in restaurants of
nose-to-tail items. When consumers try unique foodservice cuts that are seen as culinary trends,
with celebrity chefs demonstrating the same products, they're more
likely to re-create these dishes at home for their own dinner parties."
The population in the U.S. is also changing, which impacts the
demand for nose-to-tail products. By 2025, Hispanics will account for
nearly 20% of the U.S. population. Hispanic shoppers are almost three
times more likely to buy variety meats than the overall population,
according to Nielsen. As the percentage of this and other ethnic populations grows in the U.S., the demand for nose-to-tail cuts like tripe, pigs'
feet, and lamb necks will also grow.

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Supermarket Perimeter - November 2019

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