Saturday, March 30, 2024

Meat sector aiming high

Neal Wallace
A national brand for meat supported by a story detailing New Zealand farming practices will be released within the next few months to spearhead the sector’s response to the growth of competing artificial protein.
Reading Time: 3 minutes

A just-released study on the threat of alternative protein to NZ’s red meat sector commissioned by Beef + Lamb NZ identifies beef in our largest market, the United States, as most at risk from the growth of artificial protein.

It warns plant-based burgers and mince will likely be widely available throughout the US within five years and China in 10 years, potentially targeting the grinding beef market.

B+LNZ chief executive Sam McIvor said while the report makes the scale of threat posed by alternative protein abundantly clear there are also opportunities by differentiating NZ meat through a brand and story.

The imagery and details could be released in April.

One of those opportunities is the growing US demand for grass-fed beef with sales doubling every year since 2012, reaching NZ$378 million in 2016.

The US beef market is worth $1.2 billion a year to NZ with exports accounting for about 2% of all beef consumed there. 

Consumers eat 100m burgers every day in the US and McIvor said there is also a growing market for high-end, premium meat burgers from grass-fed cattle.

Beef consumption is expected to continue to grow in the US, as it has from 2010 when 12.2m tonnes were eaten, with forecasts it would reach 12.8m tonnes in 2026.

Consumption in China is also expected to grow, from 6.5m tonnes to 9.5m tonnes over the same period.

The rising middle classes in Africa and Asia were also looming markets for red meat.

McIvor said the new brand and NZ story have been intensively researched and created in collaboration with six meat companies.

It has been tested in seven countries: the US, United Arab Emirates, India, China, Indonesia, United Kingdom and NZ and the response was positive with consumers liking the notion of eating natural, grass-raised meat.

“The alternative protein study has reinforced strongly that we’re doing the right thing and are on the right track,” McIvor said. 

How and where it will be released is still the subject of discussion.

The story will target value chains in markets in as-yet unspecified countries.

Underpinning the NZ Story is the NZ Farm Programme, designed to streamline the various meat company audit systems and verify claims.

Research shows the first decision by consumers of premium meat products is to visit a retailer they trust. Products are chosen based on the country of origin and then the brand.

“This reinforces two things. One, that we are on the right track developing the red meat story and, two, the farm assurance programme that sits under that. 

“It also absolutely reinforces to me the urgency of activating that in the marketplace.”

McIvor said the challenge from artificial protein is real but he notes much of its funding comes from Silicon Valley, which has a history of fickle investors who readily move to the next big thing and other mimicking products, such as almond milk, have had food safety issues.

The key for the NZ red meat sector is how it responds to the rise of alternative proteins and how to push commodity-priced meat cuts in to the premium bracket.

He was confident it can be done.

“That’s because the same forces driving the significant investment and demand for manufacturing alternative proteins, including concerns about industrial farming, health and the environment, offer us a chance to differentiate NZ red meat internationally.”

NZ’s free-range, natural sheep and beef farming is a world away from intensive factory and feedlot farming and big food, which the report said has tarnished the reputation of red meat.

“It’s vital we leverage our competitive advantage and rigorously protect it — grass-fed, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, natural protein — to capture higher premiums and raise the value of our exports.”

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