The traditional role of meat as a center-of-the-plate entrée may be changing. That is not necessarily a bad thing either, as long as processors continue to evolve to meet the needs of consumers. Younger shoppers who want something more than a 14-ounce steak for dinner can still get their meat intake by utilizing meat as an ingredient.
“Trends indicate that consumers, particularly younger generations, are looking for more variety, eating more often during the course of the day but with smaller serving sizes, and are looking for foods that provide the right nutritional value that they can incorporate easily into these new eating plans,” says Michael Uetz, principal at Midan Marketing. “Ingredient use of fresh meat protein is an area that we as an industry need to be focused on.”