Before the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, consumers were buying a wide variety of meat cuts, from pre-portioned to bulk. The next few months may either see skewed consumer purchasing decisions or reinforce tried-and-true options. Either way, offering a variety of protein cuts is the best way to appeal to consumers’ desire for variety and convenience — whether it’s in bulk or smaller portions.
Portion and package sizes are certainly full of interesting developments now. “On the one hand, we’re seeing returning interest for value packs that had fallen out of favor during the aftermath of the recession,” says Anne-Marie Roerink, principal and founder of 210 Analytics, in San Antonio. “Initially, bulk discounts were popular as people applied a host of money-saving measures at the start of the recession. Later on, shoppers moved to saving money by buying less and bulk packages fell out of favor.”