The Beef Checkoff is constantly looking for ways to further beef’s appeal with food manufacturers, restaurants, grocery stores and other foodservice personnel. Consumers drive the market, and the beef industry must respond accordingly. The millennial generation is now the largest consumer group, and they are seeking quick, easy meals. To reflect this growing purchasing pattern, the checkoff has invested dollars toward creating convenient, easy to prepare, lean and nutritious beef options.
Beefshi is a creative, fusion-food concept that merges beef and sushi using prepared beef products like bologna, summer sausage, corned beef and pastrami as central ingredients. The North American Meat Institute (NAMI), a contractor to the Beef Checkoff, recognized a gap in a popular food item and has developed a way for beef to infiltrate this market.
Consumers are always looking for great products at great prices. That’s why, through muscle profiling research, the checkoff helped develop the Flat Iron, Delmonico Steak, Denver Cut, Boneless Country-Style Ribs and America’s Beef Roast. By discovering and creating beef products that are more economically accessible for smaller foodservice companies, beef can be enjoyed by more consumers and not just by those who are able to spend more on higher-priced cuts like ribeyes and filets. For producers, new products created through muscle profiling contributed an estimated $70 to $100 increase per head of beef harvested. That equates to around $2 billion per year in added value to the industry.