Sea Change
Meat and seafood are riding the growth of natural and organic food sales. BY JAMES DUDLICEK
Grocers who were looking to build upon the wave of premium meat sales leading up to Father's Day last month did well to chase the growing demand for natural and organic meat and seafood.
Pricier cuts like filets, ribeyes and T-bones have seen steady sales increases during Father's Day week for the past three years, an indication that dads deserve nothing but the best — regardless of whether the old man is doing his own shopping for the annual Sunday cookout or if his loved ones are bringing home the beef. That's according to online grocery sales data collected by Colchester, Vt.-based MyWebGrocer, which expected the trend would continue this year after sales of premium steaks increased upwards of 75 percent during the week of Father's Day last year.
And seeing as how pricier natural and organic products fall under the premium banner, this and other evidence bode well for the segment.
Far outpacing growth in conventional groceries, U.S. retail sales of natural and organic foods and beverages rose to nearly $39 billion in 2010, an increase of 9 percent over the previous year, and 63 percent higher than sales five years earlier, according to “Natural and Organic Foods and Beverages in the U.S., 3rd Edition” by Rockville, Md.-based market research publisher Packaged Facts. The publisher projects 2011 will serve as a jump-start for the market as sales ultimately increase by 45 percent by the end of the year. Overall projections are that the market will grow by 103 percent between 2010 and 2015, with total annual sales exceeding $78 billion in 2015.
Increasingly, consumers are making requests that purveyors of natural and organic meats can answer, says David Ordway, VP of sales and marketing for New Gloucester, Maine-based Pineland Farms Natural Meats Inc.
“Due to all the recent movies depicting the treatment of animals, folks want to be assured that the beef they are purchasing comes from animals that are treated with respect and dignity,” he says. “We know that an animal raised in a stress-free environment will always produce the finest-quality beef that customers seek. Our cattle grade Choice and Prime over 85 percent of the time, week in and week out. The other trend that's easily recognized is that customers want to know where the beef they are buying comes from.”
In response to this demand, Ordway says his company has created regionally sourced beef programs, with information readily available on exactly where the cattle is raised.
“We feel that some of the more progressive retailers are recognizing that if they want to differentiate themselves from the competition, they need to offer the consumer more transparency as to how their beef was raised and where it comes from,” Ordway says. “We have worked carefully with these retailers to bring custom programs to their customer base.”
“Today's consumer is looking for convenient options that bring restaurant-quality flavors to the kitchen, starting with the meat on their plate,” says Eva Safar, VP of marketing at Golden, Colo.-based Coleman Natural Foods. “In addition, buying natural and organic meat free of hormones and preservatives remains a priority.”
Coleman's packaging boldly states the company's stance: “No antibiotics, no added hormones, no preservatives ... ever.” That motto can be found on Coleman's growing line of fresh chicken and pork products, the latest of which include Coleman Natural Chicken Meatballs and Sausages, available in unique gourmet flavors like Pesto Parmesan; Spinach, Fontina Cheese and Roasted Garlic; or Tomato and Basil. “They are fully cooked, easy to prepare and full of flavor, yet free of fillers, preservatives, gluten, nitrates, nitrites, MSG or artificial ingredients,” Safar says.
“We work closely with retailers to ensure participation in their weekly circular, since 70 percent of consumers look there for what to buy,” she adds. “In addition, point-of-sale support continues to be a key focus.” The company also actively promotes its website and Facebook page.
Coleman is being proactive with traceability as well. “This summer we are teaming with HarvestMark, a system that empowers consumers to use their smartphones to trace, in-store, the origins of the food they are purchasing,” Safar says. “Coleman Natural Foods is the first national poultry brand to adopt this unprecedented level of food sourcing transparency. By scanning a unique code on the product's label, consumers can learn background about the farm where their chicken came from, including photos and, in some cases, interviews with the farmers themselves. Food safety status and recipes are also available within the HarvestMark system.”
Kansas City, Mo.-based National Beef Packing Co. offers three branded lines of natural meats aimed at specific demands for quality, safety, flavor and price point: NatureSource Natural Angus Beef, Naturewell Natural Beef and Vintage Natural Beef.
Sourced from an exclusive group of Angus ranchers, NatureSource beef cattle is fed an all-vegetarian diet, raised humanely with procedures developed by animal care experts, and never treated with antibiotics or added hormones. The process is also guided by the company's WELL Initiatives, which National Beef says is part of its ongoing commitment to lessening the impact on the key resources of water, energy, livestock and land.
NatureSource cattle are certified U.S.-born Angus heritage animals raised by specially selected ranches known for their open-range practices and maintaining optimal herd health. Grazing on open green pastures and fed a diet of grains, grasses, essential minerals and vitamins as they mature, all NatureSource feeds are tested regularly for pesticides as well as to ensure compliance with all FDA and USDA safety protocols. Additionally, the cattle are fed corn for at least 120 days, which National Beef says is a matter of taste.
Humane treatment is verified by on-site inspections, audits and signed affidavits, and includes allowing the cattle to engage in their natural behaviors while providing sufficient space, shelter and water.
Cattle for National Beef's Naturewell brand, meanwhile, are handled and fed in a similar fashion. Starting on native pasture grasses along with their mothers' milk, the cattle advance to a grass pasture diet or low-energy, grain-based fare supplemented with grass, hay or silage, and then finished with a high-energy corn- or grain based diet supplemented with roughage, usually ground-grass hay.
Checkoff Seeks Beef Backer Award Nominees
The Beef Checkoff Program is calling for entries for its fourth annual National Retail Beef Backer Awards, a program designed to honor retailers that have executed impressive initiatives to market and merchandise beef.
Through Oct. 3, retailers can enter to win in one of four categories: independent retailer (fewer than 11 retail stores), mid-size chain (11 to 99 stores), large chain (100 or more stores) and Innovator of the Year (chain or independent retailer).
“Retailers play an instrumental role in selling and marketing beef, and with the Beef Backer awards, we can show our gratitude for their efforts to bring satisfying meal experiences to families throughout the country,” said Margie Hande, chairman of the checkoff's joint retail committee.
Awards will be presented at the 2012 Cattle Industry Annual Convention and National Cattlemen's Beef Association Tradeshow in Nashville, Tenn. Winners will receive national promotion via a public relations campaign targeting local and national print and online media and national retail trade outlets.
An entry form and contest details can be found at www.beefretail.org/callforentries.aspx.
Retailers like Publix, Giant Eagle and Safewayare among those offering several species of Alaska seafood.
Naturewell products, including grinds, are billed as “minimally processed” with “no artificial ingredients, no chemicals, natural additives or water. The cattle are fed a natural diet without added hormones or antibiotics,” and are free of the latter as verified by 120-day affidavit.”
Cattle for Naturewell beef is 18 to 24 months old at processing. “The cattle in our program are handled humanely and gently throughout all process phases,” the company asserts.
Finally, National Beef's top-tier Vintage natural beef line — raised in California's Imperial Valley — is produced from a pure single breed raised by a small group of family-owned ranches, which the company says delivers a higher level of purity, tenderness and flavor. Raised solely on a 100 percent vegetarian diet, Vintage cattle are never fed animal byproducts and aren't allowed to receive antibiotics for at least 300 days before processing. They're fed a high-energy diet consisting of corn and whole grains for a minimum of 350 days.
Seafood mirrors the shift to sustainable and responsibly sourced species as well. Larry Andrews, retail marketing director for the Seattle-based Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI), says that although there's no U.S. government organic certification for seafood, as there is for other food products, “we promote Alaska seafood as wild, natural and sustainable. Our research indicates that consumers are looking for or prefer wild seafood to farm-raised. Consumers prefer to purchase wild 10 times more often than farmed.”
Retailers like Publix, Giant Eagle, Safeway and Kroger are among those offering several Alaska species, says Andrews, whose organization has launched campaigns to help these grocers and others best market Alaska seafood, such as a recently completed fish taco recipe contest, as well as the trademarked slogan “Cook it Frozen,” accompanied by POS materials and a free iPhone application to aid retailers in promoting their Alaska products and educating consumers.
“Research supports the value in promoting frozen seafood at retail,” Andrews says, citing market research from Seattle-based TRD Frameworks showing that one-third of consumers report increased consumption of frozen seafood over the past two years, and 59 percent prefer frozen wild seafood over never-frozen farm-raised fish. “I think that we have experienced a shift over the past couple of years, given the down-turn in the economy; however, I think we are seeing a strengthening in the market today,” he says.
Meanwhile, the Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association is working with retailers to sing the praises of Copper River king salmon. Also known as Chinook salmon, the variety is prized for its high oil content, succulent texture and rich flavor. Its limited season was expected to end late last month.
The group is giving a boost to the region's other species as well, including sockeye, Coho, keta and pink salmon. “Salmon from the Copper River are wild and sustainably managed; protected from overfishing by some of the most stringent, science-based fisheries management principles in the world; and designed to ensure continued quality and abundance for future generations,” says Beth Poole, director of the Cordova, Alaska-based marketing group.
Retailers like Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle waste no time promoting these kinds of seasonal offerings on their websites and via e-mail alerts to consumers, who can find cooking help at their fingertips on the grocers' sites, which provide recipes such as Apple Pecan Smothered Salmon, Sautéed Salmon with Blueberry Glaze, and Sesame Crusted Salmon over Spring Green Salad. Undertakings such as these not only educate consumers, but also open the door to cross-department promotions.
Other retailers take a more active role in educating consumers about responsible sourcing. For example, Edina, Minn.-based Lund Food Holdings, which operates the Lunds and Byerly's supermarkets in the Twin Cities area, explicitly explains its policies, along with providing vast background information on its website.
“Our seafood departments have been navigating toward offering more and more sustainable seafood choices, and I'm proud to say that, since 2005, we have made significant strides toward this goal,” Bea James, Lunds/Byerly's senior manager of organic and natural programs, writes on the grocer's website. “Currently, over 50 percent of the seafood we sell is from sustainable wild-caught and aquaculture fisheries. We call our sustainable seafood program 'Responsibly Sourced,' and wherever you see that name in our seafood department, you know your fish choice has come from a sustainable wild or farmed fishery.”
Recognizing that, as James says, “Fish can't save themselves,” the retailer has removed several depleted fish from its seafood offerings, including orange roughy, bluefin tuna, Chilean sea bass and shark. “We are committed to offering you a wide variety of responsibly sourced, wild-caught and farm-raised seafood through partnerships with third-party organizations that ensure fisheries are utilizing sustainable practices that preserve and improve our oceans' ecosystems,” the retailer declares.
Newport News, Va.-based Icelandic USA Inc., a producer and distributor of frozen fish fillets and value-added processed seafood products to the retail, club store and foodservice channels, notes that the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch has up-graded trawl-caught Atlantic Cod from Iceland to a sustainable “Good Alternative” for consumers.
“Icelandic USA will continue to be a leader in the support of sustainable fisheries,” says Chuck Spencer, the company's national account manager and global sustainability specialist. “Our vision is to secure healthy marine and freshwater resources to provide high-quality, nutritious food for today's consumers and future generations.” PG
Confronting Natural Disasters, Addressing Related Concerns
Manmade or natural disasters, such as the BP oil spill and the tsunami in Japan, can cause serious concern about food safety.
Worried about consumer fears of radioactive contamination in seafood following an explosion at a nuclear reactor in Japan after the tsunami, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) emphasizes that product from Alaskan waters is safe to eat.
ASMI pointed out that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) flatly states that seafood from U.S. waters in the North Pacific is safe to eat, and in the “unlikely scenario” that airborne pollutants could affect American product, FDA will work to make sure seafood caught there is tested frequently, and that facilities that process and sell seafood from those areas are inspected.
A joint plan issued by the State of Alaska Office of the Governor, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Health and Social Services declares: “Because there is no immediate or anticipated indication of harmful radiation reaching Alaska or its waters, all seafood and other food items produced in Alaska remain safe to consume. State officials will notify the public … in the event of any changes in the current situation.”
Further south, the fishing industry along the U.S. Gulf Coast is still feeling the impact of the BP oil spill from well over a year ago. A marketing campaign, “Serve the Gulf,” aims to reassure consumers that gulf seafood is safe. The campaign was launched as part of the Alabama Coastal Recovery Commission's effort to help lead the Gulf Coast's economic revival. “The idea was to find a voice for the Alabama seafood community before the anniversary of the spill,” says Chris Nelson, VP of Bon Secour Fisheries Inc., a seafood processor and wholesaler in Bon Secour, Ala.
A new implementation guide for applying traceability standards in the U.S. seafood supply chain was introduced in March by the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) and GS1 US at the International Boston Seafood Show.
The document, which is free and available on the NFI website, was developed to provide consistent, practical seafood-traceability guidance for voluntary industrywide use. It defines minimum requirements and best practice recommendations for tracking seafood as it moves through the supply chain from farms to processors, suppliers, distributors, retailers and foodservice operators.
“The traceability guide reinforces the seafood industry's commitment to providing our customers and consumers with safe and sustainable seafood,” says Steve Mavity, SVP of quality assurance at San Diego-based Bumble Bee Foods. “It will allow us to leverage GS1 standards to enhance and standardize our product-tracing efforts.”
Meanwhile, at a time when more consumers are wary of buying canned seafood products due to their impact on marine life and shoppers' concern over potential contamination, a rapidly growing brand called Wild Planet Foods is redefining the category for a new health- and eco-conscious generation.
With strict quality control from fishhook to store shelf, McKinleyville, Calif.-based Wild Planet sources its premium line of tuna and other canned seafood products primarily from the North Pacific, a natural habitat of albacore, salmon and pink shrimp. Each catch comes from small, artisanal vessels practicing sustainable fishing methods: pole and troll fishing techniques that eliminate the snagging of sea turtles, seabirds, sharks and other animals commonly killed or wounded by conventional methods.
Wild Planet products include Wild Albacore Tuna (which has no added water or oil to drain, and contains 600 percent more natural omega-3 and less than half the mercury levels of other brands), Wild Skipjack Tuna, Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon, Wild Alaskan Pink Salmon, Wild Pink Shrimp, Wild California Sardines and Dungeness Crab meat.
“Using resources like Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch to vet the fisheries that supply our product line, we make sure our practices meet the highest standards of sustainability,” says Bill Carvalho, Wild Planet founder. “We hope this inspires consumer support for sustainably sourced products and a worldwide shift to better fishing practices.”
CEO Terry Hunt adds: “We're especially heartened by how many consumers Wild Planet is enticing back to the canned seafood category as a whole.” So, retailers have a lot to be happy about when it comes to natural and organic varieties of seafood, as purveyors make new strides to answer the call for greater responsibility when it comes to sourcing, quality and sustainability.
Yet not all may be completely persuaded. “I am less optimistic about seafood than any of the other proteins,” says Kelly Mortensen, meat director for Salt Lake City-based Associated Food Stores. “It is becoming so expensive it is out of the budget for a lot of consumers. It is also so expensive you cannot have massive fresh seafood displays, due to the shrink factor.”
Mortensen says frozen seafood is the best value for the typical consumer. “If the seafood category has any growth, it will be in the frozen category; it just makes more sense economically for everyone,” he says. ” Seafood, I believe, has a finite supply, and we can't afford to waste any of it.”
— PG Contributing Editor Bob Gatty contributed to this article
Blackwell Angus Car Grabs FirstNASCAR Victory
The Blackwell Angus beef-sponsored Roush Fenway Racing team earned its first checkered flag at the Iowa Speedway on May 22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year, earned his first series victory after leading a total of 41 laps throughout the afternoon. Blackwell Angus beef is the lead sponsor of the No. 6 Ford Mustang. In 2011, the Cargill fresh beef brand expanded its sponsorship of Roush Fenway's NASCAR Nationwide Series team with an eight-race commitment.
“We knew this day was coming, and we were glad to be right alongside Ricky and the pit crew when it happened,” said Ivan Brown, Angus brand manager at Wichita, Kan.-based Cargill. “Ricky looked really good … and we couldn't ask for a better finish. We're excited for what this win can do for our retail partners.”
Available at select retail stores throughout the United States, Cargill's Blackwell Angus beef is hand-selected, hand-cut and grain-fed to be consistently juicy and flavorful. For more information, visit www.BlackwellAngus.com.
