'Other white meat' marketing has pork living high on the hog - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

DSN Retailing Today, Feb 5, 2001 by Mike Duff

Pork sales continue to evolve because of several critical factors, including change in the ethnic composition of the United States, advertising and marketing, and the participation of supercenters and clubs at retail.

On the mass level, supercenters and warehouse clubs are offering consumers alternatives to traditional supermarket operations in a category that has had various fortunes over the past decade.

The growth of minority populations in the United States, particularly from Latin American countries, has been regarded as a boost for pork sales. According to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, whites who purchase pork products spend about $7.77 per purchase, black consumers spend about $9.20 and Hispanic consumers about $9.69.

Good marketing has played a roll in keeping pork sales rolling. At the height of activist assaults on beef, the National Pork Producers Council crafted a marketing program designed to capitalize on efforts prompting consumers to switch to supposedly healthier poultry products. The program, which ran under the slogan. The Other White Meat, gave pork products prominence in consumer consciousness just as they were rethinking their eating habits.

Evidence of the campaign's effectiveness is available in per capita consumption figures. Many factors affect fresh food consumption, including price and the effects of the general economy, but since the campaign launched in 1987, retail weight pork consumption rose from 49.1 lbs. to 52 lbs. in 1989 before falling to 49.7 lbs. in 1990. In contrast, beef consumption fell during the period from 73.9 lbs. in 1987 to 69 lbs. in 1989 and 67.8 lbs. in 1990. The Pork Producers Council continues to develop The Other White Meat program through a sponsorship of ARCA racing champion Frank Kimmel.

Supercenters and warehouse clubs are driving change in retail pork sales. Supercenters, for their part, are developing case-pack programs that have the potential to change how retailers approach meat in general. Getting the butcher shop out of the store has been a consideration for food retailers over the years, but consumers have been reluctant to accept product they deem less than fresh.

In the late '80s, Excel tried to popularize casepack beef, but consumers didn't bite. Pork, however, isn't necessarily subject to the same standards as beef, and both Wal-Mart and Kmart have been introducing case-pack product into their stores.

One Wal-Mart store manager familiar with stores in the South noted that acceptance of the product was generally good, although older consumers were skeptical. Enhancing acceptance in the region is a rollout of new packaging from Smithfield Packing of Smithfield, Va., a major supplier. The newer pork packaging resembles the most up-to-date poultry packaging, with a deep-dish cradling product and colorfully decorative wrap. The updated presentation has generally gotten a good reception, said the manager.

Not all of the pork offered in sup ercenters is case-pack, but things have been heading in that direction. The benefits of case-pack products are several. "Case-pack obviously helps keep us in stock. When things run low, we have associates put the meat out, so we only use meat cutters on a prime shift basis," said Susan Dennis, a

Kmart spokeswoman.

The case-pack approach is also more efficient--operations are centralized, portions are controlled and distribution is simplified. And given the history of certain supercenter operators and labor unions--butchers are unionization targets--case-pack programs can keep affected retailers out of messy labor scrapes.

Pork sales also are being impacted by warehouse clubs. A BJ's in College Point, N.Y., on a recent Saturday, included a wide range of processed and fresh pork products. Not all were in bulk, as the unit had a deli, but large packs were the norm in most segments.

Products ranged from packaged bacon, frankfurters and cold cuts to loin chops. Prices made the incentive to buy big. A three-pack of Dak's Danish canned hams, 1 lb. each, was offered at $6.99. A nearby Waldbaums supermarket offered an equivalent 1 lb. Plumrose canned ham for $3.49.

Costeo also stocks fresh and processed pork products, although it's assortment isn't as ambitious as that of the more consumables-oriented BJ's. However, the basics are there on both ends. A Costco in central Florida recently offered pork loin chops on the fresh side, along with processed product from Armour, Swift and the chain's own Kirkland brand. Kirkland spiral hams were being sampled at the store.

A unit manager noted that individual products may change from week to week, depending on the buyers, but that the store tries to keep a basic lineup in the case at all times. The tenderloin product may be teryaki-flavored one week, but not the next. Yet, a tenderloin will be available.

Costco didn't go into ethnic marketing at the particular store in question, but a BJ's in College Point draws from a territory that makes the United Nations look homogeneous--responding with ethnically oriented neck bones and hocks.