Sponsored by Tyson Fresh Meats
Words are important, especially when it comes to describing a menu item. Whether ordering online or visiting a restaurant, consumers pay attention to verbiage, and they notice familiar, trusted brands. This is especially true with dishes that feature beef, as consumers are more knowledgeable than ever about the different descriptors related to the popular protein.
Operators who communicate their beef is high quality can boost sales, which is important now as consumers reconsider what to eat. “The pandemic showed us consumer behaviors have changed, and some of these behaviors are here to stay,” says Ozlem Worpel, director of Fresh Meats Marketing at Tyson Fresh Meats. “During this time they have experimented with more things, including new products and new brands.”
The result, Worpel says, is that consumers are looking for brands they trust. “When you put your brand out there, you make a promise about what you are going to deliver,” she says. “Consumers trust the brand and you’re halfway there.”
During the pandemic, people were eating at home and were looking for restaurant-quality products such as Angus beef. In fact, Tyson Fresh Meats, the beef and pork subsidiary of Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods, conducted a study late last year that found 96% of consumers recognize the term Angus beef and associate it with quality.
Two-tiered branding
To help its retail and restaurant customers respond to consumer demand for top-quality beef, Tyson Fresh Meats found a unique way to split its Chairman’s Reserve® Beef program into two tiers: Chairman’s Reserve Platinum™ Beef and Chairman’s Reserve Premium Beef. Both offer exclusively Angus beef, and both are USDA Choice, which offers high quality at a moderate price point. Choice is the most common quality grade in the U.S., accounting for 80% of the graded marketplace. Prime is the top and most expensive grade.
The new Chairman’s Reserve Platinum category provides a close-to-Prime experience without the USDA Prime price tag. This beef is sourced from the upper 1/3 (Moderate Marbling) USDA Choice quality grade, a higher quality than the commoditized upper 2/3 USDA Choice Angus category. The new Premium Beef program offers affordable Angus that still provides a positive eating experience on the plate. The new program enables operators to deliver on quality that patrons are looking for and maximize profit power by offering it at a more affordable price level than other Angus brand specs.
Consumers recognize the brand name and attribute, Chairman’s Reserve and Angus, and associate them with quality. “You know you are getting a great eating experience and a consistent experience at a more affordable price level,” Worpel says.
Standing out in the crowd
Branding can help small, independent operators stand out as the industry reopens and welcomes back consumers. “It’s your way to communicate with customers ahead of their experience and to set up their expectations,” says Guy Meikle, executive chef for the Heritage Restaurant & Caviar Bar, and for The Study in Chicago. “What do you stand for as a brand, and what can customers expect when they get there?”
Meikle adds that it is important to put brand names on menus, in order to highlight that the establishment truly believes this product to be of the highest quality. “We use Chairman’s Reserve from Tyson, because it is the highest quality commercial beef on the market,” he says. “It is like buying from and supporting 11,000 small farmers and ranchers.”
Heritage offers an 8-ounce Chairman’s Reserve Steak Burger. “We call out that it’s a steak burger,” he says. “We are giving people the casual but still upscale feel they want.” The Study, a fine-dining restaurant, serves Chairman’s Reserve beef in a six-course Chef’s Tasting from tataki to tartar, to slow-roasted prime rib.
Whether it’s brand names on menus or the spiel the server delivers about the beef quality, the story that the restaurant tells about the food can help differentiate the establishment among competitors. People trust brands, Meikle says, and trust drives repeat sales.
According to Datassential’s 2021 Burger Keynote, consumers still love to eat meat. Among the most-favored mega-trends right now is upscale meat options, with 41% of consumers expressing interest. That could provide opportunities for operators that offer higher-quality burgers and other beef-centric menu items.
It is important to communicate brands on menus. “Show the consumer it’s not any meat that comes through the door,” Worpel says. “It is a brand, and you know where that meat comes from.”
Tyson Fresh Meats provides operators with menu inserts that tell the story of the Chairman’s Reserve Meats program, explain the top 1/3 Choice Angus category and describe the quality attributes related to marbling. “We make sure we stay connected with our customers and consumers, listen to them, understand what their needs are,” Worpel says. “This change we had with the Chairman’s Reserve brand is a reflection of that, of looking at what is the need in the marketplace and coming up with those changes.”
To find out more about how to answer consumer demand for premium Angus beef at a profitable price point, visit https://tysonfreshmeats.com/get-in-touch.
