Convenience — “Home-Cooked” Meals in Minutes Win With Consumers

Consumers are demanding convenience without compromising quality. A “home-cooked meal” has come to mean a delicious, nutritious home-style experience, straight from the package, with little or no preparation. This push for convenience items by grocery shoppers has meant that processors are developing new technologies and putting more time, effort and quality into the creation of value-added products, with outstanding results.

And retailers are responding to consumer demand with meal solutions found throughout the store. Retailers understand that when they can help customers solve their dinner dilemma with a wide range of ready-to-eat products, their customers will be back more often, resulting in incremental sales on products that offer excellent profit margins.

“Among the many options available, beef is the perfect protein for home-style meals. Beef short ribs, pot roasts with gravy, and roasts au jus—beef at its best takes time—time that most consumers don’t have,” says Derrick Ash, Director Retail Marketing for the Beef Information Centre. “These heat-and-serve products overcome the time barrier and expand beef meal choices beyond steaks and grinds.”

The success of this category has generated many brands and line extensions, including shaved and pulled beef items, and unique flavour profiles such masala beef and slow roasted beef tips in wine gravy. The potential market for these products is unlimited, as taste and quality continue to exceed consumer expectations.

“As the quality of pre-cooked products has improved, consumer acceptance has grown in leaps and bounds,” says Andrew Thompson, President of TMF Foods Ltd., a well-known manufacturer of value-added products. “Now that these products deliver a delicious, nutritious 'home-cooked' experience in minutes, they have become a weekly staple rather than an occasional emergency meal.”

When it comes to meal solutions, the deli is an established destination. Customers are attracted to delis that have full meal solutions available. Almost half of deli sales now come from value-added offerings. Increasing the selection of hot deli items quickly expands a retailer’s offering.

Based on the NPD Group Inc. National Eating Trends 2008 data, beef is the most popular protein eaten at the in-home dinner occasion. Ready-to-eat beef entrées in the deli—like pot roast— present real growth opportunities. In fact, a pot roast product has been successfully piloted in western Canadian supermarkets, and will soon be providing customers with a choice beyond BBQ chicken. These solid muscle roasts are seasoned, trimmed of fat and deliciously braised, providing the main component of a wholesome, homemade family meal.

Beef at the deli also offers the opportunity for incremental deli sales. Research has shown that offering a greater variety of foods is the number one factor that would make customers more likely to purchase from supermarket hot food stations. Who wants a BBQ chicken twice a week? But families would be open to two deli meals if they were different proteins—chicken on Monday, pot roast on Thursday or take-out Asian meals like beef and broccoli meet this opportunity perfectly.

The ready-made meal market is here to stay and consumers are demanding more choice, more options and more beef. Retailers are expanding their ready-to-eat offerings, both at the meat case and in the deli, looking to help consumers solve their dinner dilemma, bringing them into the store more often, and increasing sales and profitability.

Contact the Beef Information Centre for value-added products suitable for your business.