Consumer preferences - Essay Example

The changing meat market Showcasing the time period over the last from about 1980 to 2000 i.e. 20 years, it has been observed that there has been a tremendous change in the way the red meat market has been marketing its products. The industry has cut down on its approach of merely selling the commodity and is now focusing on a true “marketing approach” in order to entice consumers back towards consuming meat (Pierson and Allen, 1986). The new strategy involves moving away from the traditional selling of meat on its own and advertising different beef products that are altered to cater to the demands of the modern consumer.

The four main programs that were highlighted in a study regarding this strategy were the introduction of close trim meat programs, beef with reduced fat content, hormone free beef and branded beef products (Mary Elizabeth Procopio, 1990). The per capita consumption of beef was about 64.2 pounds in 1960 and reached a record high of 84.4 pounds in 1974. However, it then suffered a great drop to reach 76.5 pounds in 1980 (USDA, 1985, p.17) and has suffered a declining trend since then as it was at 67.

5 pounds in 2000 (Factors affecting US beef consumption, Davis and Lin). There have been a number of studies to try to figure out the reasons why consumer preferences for beef may be decreasing. Some say that it could be attributed to other meats becoming more price effective as compared to beef or consumers preferring the taste of other non red meats (Skaggs and Menkhaus, 1986; Hahn, 1988). Other studies implied that while relative price changes might be part of the reason, changes in the social structure also majorly contributed to the declining consumption of beef.

These included the involvement of more women in the workforce which is why they had less time to prepare meals at home and thus started favoring meats that take relatively less time to cook and this factor did beef no favors. Not only that, but people have recently started adopting a more health conscious attitude and thus tend to avoid beef as it leads to cholesterol problems and other heart diseases (Breidenstein, 1988). It is in response to these changing preferences that the beef industry has tried to mend its ways in order to attract consumers once again.

Everyone from the producers to the retailers sought to implement change. They started changing the way the animals were fed in order to produce leaner and thus less fat filled meat. More readymade beef products were introduced to provide time saving alternatives to the traditional methods. The nutria-facts program was also started which conveyed the nutritional value and advantages of eating beef to the consumers (Mary Elizabeth Procopio, 1990) Conclusively, it seems that in the preference curve showing a tradeoff between beef and other meats, the inclination seems to be more and more towards other meats as people become more constrained by time and health conscious.

It still remains to be seen whether the beef industry can salvage its position or accept defeat to the other meats. Works Cited: Procopio, Mary Elizabeth. Marketing Response to Changing Consumer Preferences in the Fresh Beef Industry. . Davis and Lin. Factors affecting Beef Consumption in U.S.