Your meat department has always been one of the anchor departments of your store. While that fact isn’t changing, some of what can move the needle in your meat section continues to evolve and has to be paid attention to, in order to continue catering to shoppers.
We will take a look at three of the biggest initiatives for AWG retailers in meat for 2020. We will look at why they’re important and how you can capitalize on these trends for your store.
- Seafood Is No Shrimp
While the average American eats more than 100 pounds of poultry, beef and pork per year, they average only 16 pounds of seafood, according to FMI’s Power Of Seafood 2019 report. That equates to $12 billion in annual sales, which pales in comparison to the other proteins in your meat department. But that doesn’t mean that’s the way it always has to be.
Seafood customers have an average basket size of $95 when they make a seafood purchase, according to Nielsen. They report spending $129 per week on groceries for normal seafood consumers and frequent buyers go up to $143 per week. They’re also more likely to make more trips to the grocery each week.
In seafood, shrimp, despite its small name, is the king of the sea. Shrimp account for more than $3.3 billion in sales in the U.S. They have seen a 7.6 increase in revenue and 7.7 percent increase in unit sales, according to Nielsen. In types of shrimp, frozen made up 74 percent of sales – but cooked and raw were close to even.
So how to take advantage of the open space for more seafood purchases in your store lead by shrimp? AWG’s team has created a Best Choice shrimp program that allows nearly every retailer to offer shrimp that will cater to almost any seafood buyer.
There are five new raw shrimp items and sizes and five new cooked shrimp items and sizes now available. In addition, shrimp skewers are now also available, making for an incredibly convenient meal solution.
For those that are looking how they can feature shrimp and build on the buying strength of those customers, the AWG meat and store brands team have come up with merchandising plans for both doored freezers as well as bunkers that are driven by data and sales. Contact your meat and seafood specialist to see how you can stock the different varieties of shrimp and how to tap into the sales.
- Hungry? Grab A Protein Snack
According to a recent IRI Snacking Survey, consumers are averaging 2.7 snacks per day and the number of those having 3+ snacks per day increased over the past four years to 47 percent. The opportunity sits in front of each store to push some of that snacking to meat and protein options.
What kinds of snacks are people looking for? Think flavors outside of traditional, like spicy, bold and coming from different cultures. Those consumers using different dietary lifestyles are also prime markets for snacking, like keto, paleo and Whole30. Additionally, even those outside of specific diet plans are looking for healthier options that can keep them satiated during their day or even replace a meal.
And savvy retailers are thinking beyond just the traditional meat snacks. Small portioned seafood snacks are gaining appeal, with items like salmon, shrimp and tuna with bold flavors capturing the attention of snackers.
For AWG retailers there are a number of ways to appeal to these customers. Some are using a snacking endcap cooler to keep them in the path of the center store shopper. Others have expanded their snacking set in their coolers. The most aggressive have created whole sections of their store that becomes a destination for shoppers. With plenty of options, working with your AWG meat specialist is a smart move to see what can be done in your store.
- Flying the Plant-Based Flag
In case you have been living under a rock, plant-based proteins have exploded onto the scene and are making a real impact on sales. Total plant-based meat sales have surpassed $800 million, accounting for 2 percent of U.S. retail packaged meat sales.
AWG has partnered with companies like Beyond Meat, Tyson and Smithfield to bring their plant-based products to retail. Retailers are adding plant-based meat alternatives alongside conventional meat, introducing a wider range of consumers to these products. Putting all “center of the plate” proteins in one place has helped refrigerated plant-based meat sales to grow by 37 percent.
