Despite the extreme inflationary pressure on income now, consumers continue to lean into their love for meat in 2024.
“2024 was the strongest year on record for meat, with growth for beef and chicken, pork, lamb had a really good year, bison, veal, you name it,” says Anne-Marie Roerink, owner of 210 Analytics, who conducted the 2024 Power of Meat study. “It was just an all-around fantastic year, and it really underscored that despite consumers having that pressure on income and being in the non-stop balancing act on what to spend their money on, meat won one big.”
How Did Meat Win?
When times are tough, people start to cook at home more often, Roerink says. A part of the dollar that came out of food service restaurants went into the retail grocery store space. She says part of the dollar might end up back at restaurants. But, that’s not a bad thing for the meat industry. The balance between retail and restaurants tends to be a good thing.
“For years, we worried about whether millennials were going to be meat and poultry consumers like the generations before them. The answer is a resounding yes,” Roerink says.
Millennials, especially the older half of this age group, are starting to come into their income potential.
“Many millennials now have children,” she adds. “And those children are starting to be the age where you think you go to the grocery store for the entire week, and about two days later, your pantry, fridge and freezer are empty.”
The retail meat industry sold 500 million more packages in 2024 than they did in 2023. Roerink says 62% of that 500 million-package growth was driven by millennials.
“That’s been a key finding for all of us,” she says. “Millennials do approach meat and poultry a little bit differently, so that’s going to mean more change in years to come.”
Another reason why the meat industry is doing so well is Americans’ massive focus on protein.
“If you walk around the store, from your mac and cheese to your Skippy peanut butter, protein call-outs are everywhere,” Roerink explains. “But at the same time, this is going hand in hand with some people saying, ‘I want fewer ingredients in the things that I buy. I want a more natural form of food.’ That combined focus on protein with more wholesome foods has really put meat and poultry back into driver’s seats as well.”
What Do Millennials Really Want?
Roerink says millennials are focused on convenience more than ever. This is largely attributed to their life stage – running around and balancing time between family and work like generations before them.
“They have more focus on sustainability and animal welfare,” she adds. “With their approach and values relative to meat and poultry, I think we’re going to see some different needs in terms of transparency. They truly do want to hear from the producers. They want to understand what kind of life the animal had, how you approach water management and everything else.”
She says it may sound crazy, but consumers do want to know how their food is produced. And if they don’t hear it from the producer, they may dream up their own descriptions, she points out.
“Often times when we think about our meat category, we use industry terms. We approach it from a scientific angle,” Roerink says. “This means nothing to consumers. They want to know more, but we need to speak in a language that makes sense to those consumers.”
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