Who: Waitrose
What: New York Inspired Beef Steaks
Where: Chilled beef
How much: £4 for 230g
Why: Supermarkets are giving increasing space to vegetarian and vegan food, and meat eaters are showing a preference for chicken and turkey over red meat. In spite of these pressures, fresh beef has held its own, slipping just 1.5% in value to £2,151.5m on volumes down 1.2% [Kantar 52 w/e 14 July 2019]. These added-value steaks are rubbed with mustard seeds, cracked green peppercorns, cracked coriander seeds and chillies.
Consumer verdict: The product did not fare well among shoppers. While the level of pre-trial interest was respectable, it dropped off considerably upon testing. People complained about the “artificial taste” of the “chewy and tough” meat. It was “too spicy”, “poor quality” and “very disappointing”. Despite the steaks scoring below average on all key metrics, they still generated some praise, including “very juicy” and “amazing flavour”.
Pre-trial purchase: 47%
Post-trial purchase: 26%
Better than what’s out there: 28%
New and different: 47%
Overall score: 33/50
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