Consumers Demand Convenience - What This Means for Your Meat Case

It’s no secret that convenience counts among shoppers, and the meat case is no exception.

A 2020 packaging study found the practical benefits of a package made the biggest impression on respondents, even over environmentally friendly, freshness or quality attributes.¹

Convenience Is King

According to shoppers, convenient packaging attributes include¹:

Easy-to-open, no utensils required
Simple reseal options
Transparent, showing as much of the meat as possible
Easily stackable in the fridge or freezer
Easily disposable

The good news? Depending on your case ready program, many quality-of-life package improvements are already there. Here are a few things to keep in mind when setting up your meat case to ease consumer pain points.

One Size Does Not Fit All

There are differing opinions on package convenience depending on the cut of meat. Make sure your supplier is keeping in time with packaging data and trends to help you discern these small but impactful differences.

Proper Portioning Is Crucial

With inflation taking its toll on consumers’ wallets (and rising input costs for retailers), consumers are paying more attention to portion size at retail. See if your supplier offers single-serve portions in resealable packages.

Portion-cut products are convenient for the consumer and the benefits extend to retailers.

Stocking pre-portioned and packaged protein deliver consistency in serving size and quality. It also helps close the skilled labor gap for cutting and reducing waste in grocery stores. Considering that approximately 800 million pounds of meat and poultry were lost at retail in 2021, that’s the kind of preventable loss that can hit a bottom line hard.²

Cooking Fatigue Is Still Here

Twenty-two percent of U.S. consumers say they’re tired of cooking at home, yet 82% of meals are still being made at home (versus the pre-pandemic 50%).^3,4

Eliminating the prep work can go a long way in winning over consumers, starting with pre-seasoned and marinated proteins. Sixty-seven percent of meat consumers say they use value added meats at least “sometimes,” with 26% using these products “frequently.”⁵ The market is there — make sure your meat case is, too.

Ready to get the convenience of a trusted partner? Reach out to the beef and pork experts at Tyson Foods today.

¹ Tyson Fresh Meats, Packaging Study, January 14, 2020
² IRI, Integrated Fresh, MULO, 52 SEK 12/28/2021
³ Mintel, What/How America Eats – U.S., 2022
⁴ IRI, More than “Meats” The Eye Webinar, March 2022
⁵ Power of Meat, 2022