The U.S. pork industry is at a crossroads — efficiency isn’t enough anymore. David Newman, CEO of the National Pork Board, says it’s time to change how we think about the plate. The opportunity to grow pork demand has never been greater.
“We know with confidence that meat is ‘in,’” says Glynn Tonsor, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University. “Fewer people declare themselves a vegan or vegetarian than they did 5 years ago. That should get you excited if you’re in the meat and livestock space.”
The “One More Pound” Challenge
The National Pork Board recently unveiled a radical but simple vision: increase annual U.S. pork consumption by just one pound per person. Newman says this one-pound increase translates to roughly $1.5 billion in retail value.
He emphasizes that the first step toward reaching this goal isn’t a logistical one; it’s a mental one. The industry must believe it is possible to grow the “protein pie” rather than just fighting for a smaller slice.
“The opportunity exists in the protein space right now,” Newman adds. “I believe, and I think our producers believe as well, that they can take advantage of this opportunity with our consumer. The most important person in our value chain is the person who consumes the product we make. Our business is built around the idea that a consumer walks into a grocery store or restaurant, buys pork, eats it and likes it enough to repeat the process again.”
A Radical Shift: From “Push” to “Pull”
For decades, the industry focused on being the most efficient producers in the world — essentially “pushing” pounds onto the market at whatever price they could get. Newman says the strategy needs to shift to a “pull” strategy — making the consumer demand pork so much they are willing to pay more for it.
“Historically this industry has had massive success at the push side of growing production,” Tonsor explains. “I have no doubt we’ll continue to make technological advancements to be more efficient at breeding, average daily gain, you name it. We need to continue doing this, but that is still pushing pounds on the market.”
He says what this new shift requires is developing a consumer who values pork more today than they did in the past – for whatever reason.
“The new Taste What Pork Can Do campaign could be a piece of that, and I hope it is,” Tonsor says. “For example, all three of us walked into here with a smartphone that we probably paid more for than we thought we ever would 10 years ago. There’s a lot of examples like this where the quantity and the price paid for it is higher than we once thought would be the case.”
Meeting the “Future Consumer”
Now, thanks to business intelligence data, the pork industry does not have to guess what is driving purchase decisions. Newman says we know more about today’s consumers than ever before.
The future consumer doesn’t look, act or cook like consumers of the past, Newman adds. They don’t want a “center of the plate” pork chop with mashed potatoes. They want pork in a ramen bowl, a carnitas dish or an Italian lasagna. They also want the cooking process to be faster and easier – like in an air fryer.
“This industry deserves a lot of credit for its supply side efficiency gains over time, and those only happen if you measure, monitor, evaluate, adjust, rinse and repeat,” Tonsor says. “We know more on the consumer side of this – who they are, what they buy, why they don’t buy stuff and so forth.”
Just as the industry measures everything so closely on the supply side, he believes the opportunity is bigger than ever to do the same on the demand side.
How Will You ‘Grow the Pie’?
You can’t have a demand strategy without a health strategy, Tonsor says. If the industry wants to “pull” consumers in, they need a consistent, high-quality supply. Disease outbreaks create price volatility and supply gaps that cause retailers frustration.
“We need to grow the pie,” Tonsor says. “Even improvement on the disease front is a version of grow the pie – it’s less resources going out the door to fight an issue.”
Now is the time to move forward with confidence in this pull strategy, Newman adds.
“Farming is a tough business to be in, and it’s challenging right now,” Newman says. “We’ve been resilient because we’re fighters, but also because we’ve adapted to technology, identified strategies and asked ourselves the hard questions trying to manage the process and measure outcomes. All of this helps us know where to turn the dials.”
The pork industry has already mastered the science of the barn. By mastering the psychology of the grocery aisle, the ‘One More Pound’ challenge is the roadmap to opportunity. Listen to more of Newman and Tonsor’s conversation about how they believe the industry can reach that $1.5 billion opportunity with one more pound here on The PORK Podcast or watch on YouTube.
