| | Consumer demand is constantly changing! This has forced producers to become more observant and better prepared to meet this changing demand. Shifts in the market place may lead to a new demand for certain products and the creation of unique business opportunities. Capitalizing on these new opportunities, such as branded beef, involves tracking consumer and business trends and ignoring passing fads.
While understanding market trends is key to developing a successful product, consistency must go hand in hand to ensure that consumer demand is continually met. Branding is about building consumer trust and confidence by providing desirable attributes in a high quality product, consistently, with the most effective use of your time and money. Branding is about making your beef known to as many potential customers as possible, about repeat business and word of mouth referrals. If the quality of branded beef is inconsistent, or if branding is based on an attribute of little importance to consumers then the brand will not work!
To ensure that the brand is in line with consumer demand, examine current and potential trends and develop products that best answer the needs of the consumer, both now and in the future.
Market Trends
Consumers drive market trends, which in turn largely influence the consumption of goods and services. These consumers should be viewed as potential customers. Therefore, you need to look at what customers are buying and how those products meet their needs. You also need to look at demographics such as age, gender, income, family size, marital status, education, geographic location, and occupation. For instance, we have an increasingly health conscious population aware of the link between diet and health. What do these people need / want? People’s needs change throughout their lifetime, so you need to tailor your product to reflect these changes. A trend worth noting is that some consumers want to know where their food comes from, how it was raised and how it arrived on their plate.
The following links provide background information on some market trends that may affect the purchasing behaviour of consumers.
- The Aging Consumer Population - As the consumer population ages in North America, there will be more focus on health - stirring manufacturers to cut back on fat and sodium levels even more.
- The Consumer Food Trend Series - This series looks at the current and emerging food consumption trends in order to define market opportunities and provide recommendations to the Alberta agri-food industry in their business decisions.
- US National Beef Case Study – An audit of 121 retail supermarkets and 10 club stores in 498 states was conducted to help further understand the growing transformation seen in the retail meat case from 2002-2007.
- Canadian Halal Meat Market Study - The objective of the project is to qualify and quantify the market opportunities for Alberta meat producers and processors to supply halal meat within Canada.
Market Opportunities
After discovering who your customers are and the target market that they fall into, you should now be deciding on how you can best reach that customer base. For instance, people buy products from a variety of sources. Some may be more inclined to purchase direct from the producer at the farm gate or at a Farmer’s Market while others tend to frequent specialty food stores or larger chain retail stores. The challenge is to weigh the pros and cons of each marketing venue before deciding which one can best deliver your product and offer the greatest return on investment.
The following list of marketing opportunities may be good options for a branded beef program depending on the target market, size and philosophy of the program in question. These marketing opportunities are listed in a ‘scale up’ format, as it is often advisable to start small and build your business and marketing approach step by step.
Direct Marketing / Farm Gate
- Business Performance Tools in an Alberta Direct Market Beef Enterprise - This factsheet provides specialized economic information on establishing and operating a direct market beef enterprise. This information was generated by a group of producers/marketers who arrived at a consensus of opinion on investment, production, marketing requirements, costs and revenues associated with developing a viable direct market beef enterprise.
Farmers’ Markets
- Direct Marketing Meat … Selling Meat at Alberta Approved Farmers’ Markets - The purpose of this factsheet series is to help producers and processors understand the key elements needed to sell meat at an Alberta Approved Farmers’ Market. This factsheet also discusses some of the essential components used to develop a business plan and assess the profitability of a business venture.
Food Service
- Dine Alberta – Dine Alberta connects, chefs, producers and consumers to bring the best of the province’s bounty to local restaurants, cooking schools and catered events.
- AF’s Regional Cuisine Initiative - The term Regional Cuisine refers to locally produced/grown ingredients or processed products that have traceability back to a farm, locality, or province. This would include all foods that specify origin on the menu of a restaurant or food event. First and foremost it is our objective within the Regional Cuisine Initiative to connect Alberta agricultural production and food products with the consumer.
Retail – Specialty vs. Large Store
- Marketing: Will it Sell? - Ag-Alternatives is a series of factsheets designed to help you evaluate the feasibility of a new agricultural or rural based business. Worksheets in each factsheet help you personalize the information.
Other Marketing Information
- Agricultural Marketing Manual - This Manual from Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development is not just for farm managers. It is also intended to assist agribusinesses that deal with farm managers, to better understand farm product marketing.
- Branded Beef Profile – This article from the Agricultural Marketing Resource Centre (AgMRC) discusses the increase in branded beef products and potential marketing opportunities.
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