CATEGORY MANAGEMENT | MEAT
Many shoppers are willing to pay more for value-added selections.
Arlington, Va.-based FMI—The Food Indus- try Association. Cost-conscious meat shoppers are reca- librating their spending to buy more sale items, purchase less at regular prices and buy additional amounts on special to freeze and use over time, she said. “That means retailers must carefully manage margins, promotions and everyday prices while offering a continuum of package sizes and price points,” Roerink said. SPLIT DECISIONS Meat merchandisers also must meet the demands of a wide shopper spectrum, said Rick Stein, FMI vice president, fresh foods. “This means offering value options, like grinds, alongside special occasion options, like premium cuts, and maintaining clarity and simplicity on the shelf to help shoppers navigate expanded product offerings,” he
said. Retailers can protect both volume and margins with targeted promotions instead of broad blanket discounts, Stein said. He warned, however, that an over-reliance on price promotions without reinforcing quality, freshness or usage can weaken the overall value perception. While meat spending by boomers (per- sons born between 1946 and 1964) is flat, Gen Z shoppers (persons born between 1997 and 2012) and millennials (persons born between 1981 and 1996) “are entering the category at a very rapid pace” and were largely responsible for 67% of all new unit growth in 2025, Roerink said. Millennials and Gen Z are more likely to experiment with new flavors and global cuisines and place greater emphasis on transparency and claims-based meat, she said. Because boomers, millennials and Gen X
shoppers (persons born between 1965 and 1980) each represent about one-third of cat- egory dollars, “a standard planogram for all stores in a system isn’t going to work unless they are all in very similar demographic areas,” Roerink said. Operators should spotlight premium cuts, trusted brands, claims-based meats and val- ue-added items for financially comfortable shoppers with messaging around quality, sourcing, sustainability and convenience, Stein said. Major merchandising mistakes include offering too many cuts, claims and pack sizes, which can cause shopper confusion, along with misaligning assortments, such as over‑indexing on premium or claims‑based items in highly price-sensitive stores, he said. Beef merchandisers, however, still should offer a range of cuts and pack sizes so
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