Foodservice

Costco in Mexico Expands Sales of U.S. Beef and Pork To Foodservice Clientele

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 21:49:23 GMT

Costco in Mexico is expanding sales of U.S. beef and pork to foodservice clientele so recently the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) has been training sales staff on the needs of restaurant and resort chefs, says John Herath for USMEF. Support from USDA, the Beef Checkoff Program and the National Pork Board have helped with those efforts. USMEF Mexico corporate chef German Navarrete shares more details.

“Costco is a very important partner for USMEF because they only carry U.S. beef and pork,” Navarrete says. “When people go to their stores, they knew they will find this very high quality and consistent product that they are looking for, and that’s exactly what U.S. beef and pork provide.”

Navarette says they have points of sale all over the country so seminars focus not only on people who walk into the stores, but also on how to approach restaurants and hotels who also offer a array of U.S. beef and pork products.

“We carried out some seminars in order to train their sales force so that they know, not only the products, but how can it apply to restaurants and hotels and all of the different dishes that they can produce with all these different cuts that they have in their portfolio,” he says.

Seminars focus on equipment, target market and cooking methods.

“By training sales personnel as to the best cooking methods for each piece, they can approach the customers in this regard,” Navarette says. “We talk about cooking, not only cooking methods, but also the kind of equipment that they use at restaurants and hotels. So they know and they are aware of it, and they can recommend the best product for the best results.”

U.S. pork exports to Mexico are reaching new heights in 2024, USMEF reports. Through October, exports totaled nearly 950,000 metric tons, up 6% from last year’s record pace, valued at $2.1 billion (up 11%). Beef exports increased 13% to 193,000 metric tons, while value climbed 15% to $1.12 billion.

McDonald's McRib is Returning Soon: What Does It Mean to the U.S. Hog Market?

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 17:14:29 GMT

The McRib is returning on Dec. 3 to participating restaurants and as McDonald’s says, “Tis the season…McRib SZN that is.” But McRib fans aren’t the only ones cheering that the iconic pork sandwich is back.

“The McRib is a massive pull on pork supplies,” says David Newman, senior vice president of market growth at the National Pork Board.

Earlier this fall, Newman attended a McDonald’s global packer forum. He says a big question from the attendees was, “What about the McRib?”

“Everybody was a little worried about what was going to happen to the McRib post Prop 12,” Newman explains. “At that time, McDonald’s said, ‘The McRib has been a staple menu item in the fall for us for years, and we don’t plan on that going away.’”

The McRib, primarily made of ground boneless pork shoulder, maximizes a somewhat underutilized primal – the boneless picnic, Newman adds.

Back-of-the-napkin math illustrates the incredible value of the limited time offer (LTO) McRib sandwich. There are just over 13,000 McDonald’s stores in the U.S., Newman says. Not all stores carry the McRib, that is up to the franchise owners. But let’s say 10,000 of these franchisees sell one McRib at just over 7 oz. in size. That moves 70,000+ oz. of ground pork out of the market. Every time 10 McRibs are sold in every store, that’s 43,750 lb. of pork moving through the market, he illustrates.

“That is a massive number,” Newman says. “Hundreds of thousands become millions of pounds in a very short period of time. It’s huge that we have a LTO that is pork centric. Imagine what it would be like if it weren’t in the marketplace.”

He says the enormous success of the McRib offered as an LTO is why McDonald’s doesn’t serve it year-round.

“They can move more McRibs as an LTO than they can keeping it as a standing menu item, because it’s actually something that drives people to the store,” Newman says. “People are like, ‘Oh, when is the McRib coming out? Because when it comes out, we’re going to McDonald’s!’”

Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas area McDonald’s owner/operator Andi Hilburn-Vaini is thrilled it’s McRib season again.

“The classic taste of our seasoned boneless pork, paired perfectly with McDonald’s smoky and tangy BBQ sauce is a tradition that requires extra napkins,” Hilburn-Vaini says. “I absolutely love the McRib and it tastes even better knowing that with every bite, I’m supporting pork producers right here in the USA!”

What’s New This Season?
Be on the watch for a McRib-inspired anthem celebrating the return of the beloved sandwich and helping fans kickstart the season, McDonalds announced. Also, for the first time ever, McDonald’s gave fans a chance to savor the McRib’s signature flavor. The sale of half-gallon jugs of ‘A Whole Lotta McRib Sauce,’ the iconic McRib sauce, went on sale online at 10 am ET on Nov. 25, but supplies sold out within seconds of the launch.

“The McRib is more than a sandwich – it’s a part of culture, it’s a legend, it’s an event,” Tariq Hassan, chief marketing and customer experience at McDonald’s, said in a release.

Check out your nearest participating McDonald’s on Dec. 3 to grab a McRib.

Your Next Read: The McRib May Be On Its Farewell Tour, So We’re Showing Love to the Birthplace of the Beloved McRib

Freight Rates Skyrocket

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 07:27:49 GMT

Transportation woes continue to haunt Northeast shippers as trucks remain hard to come by and freight rates skyrocket because of rising fuel costs and a scarcity of drivers.

“Trucks are at a premium right now,” said Tracie Levin, controller at M. Levin and Co. , in Philadelphia.

“It’s a major hindrance for our industry and anyone else that uses trucking, which is basically every industry out there,” she said.

Shippers can’t even buy trucks.

“We’ve been on wait lists to get more trucks, trailer and tractors,” she said. “You just cannot get those things these days.”

But Levin is optimistic that things will turn around. She said some relief is already in evidence.

“We’re slowly able to get things again in a semi timely manner,” she said.

East Coast shippers have been dealing with transportation issues, but there are trucks available, said Tom Beaver, director of sales and marketing for Sunny Valley International Inc. , in Glassboro, N.J.

“Obviously, the cost of brokering a truck, especially for our (less-than-load) business, has increased considerably, but the same is true for all of our competitors,” he said. “We’re adjusting to this ‘new normal,’ but the important thing is that we can get fruit loaded and out to our customers on time and in full.”

Transportation challenges are more prevalent during the winter than they are during the spring and summer for Vineland, N.J.-based The Freshwave Fruit & Produce and its growing operation, Consalo Family Farms , said Chelsea Consalo, executive vice president.

That’s because the company has more local deals during the warmer months.

During the winter, the firm must bring in products from outside growing areas, such as Mexico, and transport fruits and vegetables imported from offshore growing regions, such as Chile, from U.S. ports.

“We have more trucks on the road (in winter),” she said.

Transportation costs are a major concern.

“We’re managing to get the trucks,” Consalo said. “It is just more expensive.”

(Farm Journal)

The Freshwave has added Nick Crisafulli, who recently completed an internship at Americold Logistics LLC, to its logistics staff to help arrange transportation.

Vineland-based Flaim Farms Inc . has its own fleet of trucks for local deliveries, said president Ryan Flaim.

But trying to find trucks for destinations that are farther out is challenging.

The company has good relationships with trucking firms, but rates are much higher than they have been in the past, Flaim said.

Finding transportation isn’t a problem, as long as you’re willing to pay exorbitant fees, said Joel Fierman, president of New York-based Joseph Fierman and Sons Inc .

“It’s really a pity when your cost for transportation pretty much is as high as your cost for goods,” he said.

He blamed the price spike on high fuel costs and a scarcity of drivers.

“It’s a terrible, terrible thing that this country is experiencing right now,” he said.

An added problem during the Christmas season was that many trucks were sidetracked delivering Christmas trees.

“It’s fast, easy money,” he said.

Filindo Colace, vice president of operations for Philadelphia-based Ryeco LLC , attributes the skyrocketing inflation rate the industry has experienced to high freight costs.

“Freight has been a premium for quite some time,” he said.

While seed prices and other costs have also gone up, he said high freight rates are 90% of the cause of inflation.

“Nothing in the industry has gone up at the same rate as freight has,” Colace said.

But he remains optimistic.

“We think the country is moving on,” he said. “We’re going to be as back-to-business as usual as possible in the first quarter of next year.”

He expected buying patterns to return to where they were in 2019.

“We hope the workforce returns to those levels, as well,” he said.

“If that’s the case, it will be our expectation that freight rates will start to lower because there are more truck drivers coming back into the workforce.”

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