NASHVILLE — America's pocketbooks are increasingly straining—the economic struggle is real. Despite inflationary pressures and financial stress, though, consumers are still buying meat products at retail.

At the 2024 Annual Meat Conference, set at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville from March 18—20, 210 Analytics principal Anne-Marie Roerink presented findings from the most recent edition of The Power of Meat. The 19th edition of this consumer-focused study surveyed shoppers to gain insights on retail meat purchasing trends.

The study, conducted on behalf of FMI – the Food Industry Association and the Meat Institute’s Foundation for Meat and Poultry Research and Education, includes data from Circana and is sponsored by Cryovac.

Meat is here to stay

Though meat consumers may have to adjust their pack sizes or amount of trips, they’re still coming to the meat department. Fresh meat sales for 2023 reached $68 billion, up 1.4% from the year before. Despite these gains, pounds sold dropped 0.5% to 16 billion pounds. Though beef sales greatly surpassed other proteins, chicken and lamb still experienced strong pounds gains in 2023. Grinds gave consumers an affordable way to get their protein--ground beef, turkey, chicken, pork and lamb sales were all up from 2022.

All processed meat sales were down in both pounds and dollars from 2022, other than bacon. Though bacon was down -7.8% to $6.6 billion, pounds were up by 0.6%.

Though consumers are looking to save their dollars, they are willing to pay more for a few things: special occasions, label claims, and convenience. When consumers truly value something, they may be willing to splurge a bit on it.

 ‘Changing of the guard’

As younger generations begin gaining more spending power, producers, retailers and marketers alike are going to have to shift their operations to cater to these younger consumers. The Power of Meat study noted that “The meat shopper of tomorrow shops less often and buys differently.” While Millenials primarily buy chicken, boomers purchase mostly beef and pork.

Though value has dominated the protein marketplace, generational differences are showing a shift—Gen Z consumers value brand, nutrition and mood, while their boomer counterparts prioritize quality, price per pound and package price. Still, consumers across the board are extremely price conscious, comparing promotions across stores.

Generational differences are clearly apparent in brand preference—2023 private-label protein sales were down 1.5% from the year prior, reaching 44% dollar share. While younger consumers like manufacturer brands for their fresh meats, boomers prefer manufacturer brands for their processed proteins.

Generational gaps are quite apparent in meal inspiration as well. While boomers get their ideas from routine, family and friends, and recipe websites, Gen Z gets their recipe motivation from TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. The “changing of the guard” from older consumers to younger ones indicates a clear shift in purchasing preferences.

Conscious consumers

Consumers are clearly price conscious in today’s economic environment, opting for the best value for their products—value being inclusive of price, quality and convenience. Aside from price consciousness, consumers are also increasingly conscious of issues such as animal welfare, sourcing/transparency, nutritional value, sustainability efforts and more. Overall, consumers want to know that they can trust their protein providers.

Though value-added meats offer convenience for consumers, they also traditionally come with a higher price tag. Because of this, value-added meats are down in both engagement and sales. Though value-added beef and chicken products did see sales gains in 2023, they both went down in pounds sold. Value-added chicken and pork both went down in both sales and pounds sold.

For the meat retail department, deli-prepared offerings present a great opportunity. In fact, compared to 2022, deli-prepared meat and poultry for 2023 was up all around—sales increased by 8.5% to $5.7 billion, and pounds sold went up 6% to 800 million pounds.

Frozen foods also offer a solid way to cater to price-conscious consumers— 2023 frozen meat and poultry sales went up in both dollars and pounds sold from the year prior.

Though higher price tags are clearly impacting consumers, meat is not going anywhere. Power of Meat study shows that trips and household penetration for the meat-alternative category are both down. Refrigerated plant-based meat alternatives reached $352 million in sales in 2023, down 16.7% from the year before. Pounds sold also went down to 44 million pounds, dropping by 16.1%. Frozen and refrigerated plant-based protein dropped 13.8% in sales to $1.1 billion, with pounds sold also dropping by 19.8% to 145 million pounds.

Most consumers eat protein. The Power of Meat study noted that “The share of vegans/vegetarians has been around 5—7%% for 18 years.” Still, despite meat’s strong presence in the market, 29% of those surveyed in The Power of Meat are trying to consume less meat. To combat decreased meat consumption, The Power of Meat noted the importance of the Protein PACT.

Consumer education

Misinformation can damage consumer perception of the meat industry. From label claims to industry terminology to animal welfare, consumer knowledge is essential to the success of the industry. Retailers can use their stores to promote meat industry education, using signs and labels throughout the store and at the meat counter. Packaging also offers a great way to connect with consumers—especially those who are in younger generations. 

Emphasizing nutrition and health is vital to the success of the meat industry. Though consumers already generally associate meat as being a healthy choice, it is important to solidify that message with consumers.

Transparency and “better for you” claims are important to consumers, though “better for you” can have a variety of meanings—better for me, the planet, the environment, the animals, etc. To cater to these consumer demands, producers should increase their transparency efforts. Claims-based meats are seeing gains all around, and the category’s core consumers have continued to drive the category’s gains.

Though animal welfare perceptions are getting better, there is clear opportunity here to educate consumers. The Power of Meat study noted that animal welfare is a joint responsibility. Though producers can educate consumers on the subject, grocery stores can do the same.

Overall, the best way to educate consumers is through packaging, signage and ads. Whether it’s sourcing, label claims or welfare efforts, packaging offers a direct way to inform consumers on many aspects of the meat industry.