More meal inspiration on pack is needed to improve shopper purchase intent for red meat and improve long-term perceptions of the industry, new research from AHDB has found.
The analysis from AHDB revealed there was a need to re-engage shoppers in the red meat category, both in store and online.
According to its research, there are clear consumer preferences of what should be included on pack, regardless of protein or cut. These preferences include inspiration with foodie imagery, information on health and provenance, and reassurance on environment and farming.
Inspiration was the biggest driver of purchase intent, AHDB found, with shoppers drawn to images of tasty, well-presented dishes.
In the case of pork medallions, pork loins and beef steaks, more than half of shoppers selected the labels with foodie imagery as their favourite (64%, 57% and 56% respectively).
Consumers also found that having information on cooking times gave them more confidence – particularly for less familiar cuts such as lamb.
Health and provenance information was also highly favoured by shoppers, especially information around fat, vitamin and mineral content.
Seventy-three per cent of those involved in the study and interested in health said that ‘lean and low in fat’ messaging would encourage them to make a purchase, while only 35% said that ‘regeneratively farmed’ would push them to buy.
“It’s clear from this research that shoppers want to feel confident in the quality of their meat, which comes from taste, health benefits and production methods,” said Grace Randall, retail and consumer insight manager at AHDB. “By helping them to feel informed and inspired we can help drive their red meat purchases.
“AHDB want to showcase the optimised label concepts created in this study and we encourage producers and retailers within the industry to initiate change and to reach out to AHDB for further support.”
The packaging designs were tested on 1,514 meat eaters, split evenly between meat eaters and those cutting down their consumption.
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