Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has pummeled every aspect of business, it could not knock food safety from its perch as meat and poultry processors’ primary focal point in 2020.
The last year was one for the record books in many ways. Never before had our nation’s meat and poultry processors been challenged to meet consumer demand in such intense and unorthodox ways.
Demand for America’s favorite sandwich is on the upswing, but consumers are branching out from the traditional beef patties and grinds with newer proteins and flavors.
It’s a burger boom time. While beef burgers have long been a family favorite and a key comfort food, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent rise in home-prepped meals is elevating interest and sales patties and grinds.
Sales are on the upswing as consumers look for products that meet their indulgent, nutritional and emotional needs, and meat and poultry selections are an increasingly popular part of the mix, according to Mintel Group, a Chicago-based global market research firm.
Chicken and turkey sales, like every meat category, posted impressive numbers for the 12 months ending Nov. 1, 2020, reports IRI, in Chicago. Chicken grew 12.7 percent in dollar sales to approximately $13.2 billion with volume sales up 8.3 percent.
Typically, consumer trends are driven by things like innovative restaurants and world travel. This year, the restaurants aren’t open, and many people haven’t traveled further than their front door, thanks to the restrictions that the Coronavirus pandemic have placed on our lives.
“2020 was a below-average year with moments of terror,” says Steve Meyer, Ph.D, an economist with Partners for Production Agriculture, based in Ames, Iowa.
Not too long ago, consumer trends were leaning toward health and wellness and plant-based alternatives. But with the arrival of the coronavirus (COVID-19), consumers shifted their focus to safety, individually wrapped packages, value-added family bundles and comfort foods. Now, it’s hard to imagine eating any other way.