Convenience — It’s Not Your Mother’s TV Dinner Anymore

We’ve come a long way from TV dinners of the past, those metal trays filled with potato flakes and suspect gravy. Today’s ready-to-eat offerings feature high quality ingredients, delicious and interesting flavours and the easiest of preparation methods. Not only are these labour saving meals available at the supermarket, ready for today’s consumer, they are widely available for the foodservice industry. This means that restaurant operators can broaden their menu options to include high quality pre-cooked items, like braised short ribs or prime rib without having to invest the time and resources to cook from scratch.

“Canadian beef is the perfect partner for these ready-to-eat and value-added items,” says Robert Giguere, Sr. Director, Domestic Trade Marketing for the Beef Information Centre. “Beef offers different cuts to suit various flavour profiles, cooking methods and price points,” continues Giguere. “Whether marinated steaks for grilling, hip and chuck cuts for braising or seasoned for kebobs, today’s technology and commitment to excellence means an exciting range of high quality options from flavourful beef tips marinated in red wine that consumers can pick up at the supermarket to a delicious pot roast dinner available at a local restaurant without the hours of braising required.”

And as quality has improved, so has consumer acceptance. A new study by USA-based Technomic Information Services shows that 62 percent of consumers report purchasing more supermarket prepared meals than a year ago, and more than half of respondents think that these items have greatly improved over the past three years.

Canadian trends and attitudes follow similar patterns, and studies show that the convenience factor is important in product selection, but not at the expense of taste. Taste is still the most important factor in the preparation of the evening meal so combining a quality product like beef’s great taste profiles and convenient preparation methods, we meet the needs of today’s consumer— whether they are eating at home, picking something up at the deli counter or dining in a restaurant.

We invite you to read on for more insight into this product segment and how Canadian beef is the perfect match for your value-added and pre-cooked offerings, at retail or at foodservice.

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