Fresh Deli Cuts Muscle Out Packaged Meats

 

Lunch meat makers are trying to meet shifting tastes by changing recipes and buying natural brands. 

Meat companies, such as Hormel Foods, Kraft Heinz, and Tyson, are buying smaller deli- meat brands and readjusting their recipes to meet the demand for fresher cuts. Most of these companies are using deli counters to showcase their new products as customers today are more in favor of healthier and more natural foods. Numbers are proving this trend as well, as the sale of freshly cut deli meat rose two percent over the last for years while pre-packaged meat fell eight percent. Furthermore, these meat companies are trying to change their deli-meat presentation by emphasizes more on natural ingredients and removing preservatives and hormones from their product.

This article relates to marketing principles in several different areas. The area is that these meat companies are noticing a trend in their customer base. Customers today are wanting more organic and natural foods and ingredients because they want to know what it being put into their body. Pre-packaged meat could be sitting out for days on end, something that customers are gravitating away from. Meat companies are now changing their direction on how to satisfy their customers taste based on this sentiment. From this, these companies are started to move to new product development. This is happening in two ways. First, meat companies are starting to make their products more naturally, whether it’s adding more organic ingredients or taking out other hormones. The second is the emphasizes of the deli counter. These companies want to utilize the deli counter more as they are able to showcase their products in a more presentable way. Having butchers actually cutting up different meats demonstrates to the customers that they are getting a good quality product and that they are able to see what is in the deli-meat as well. Furthermore, this shift in focusing more on natural products illustrates that these companies are adding to their values by emphasizes the organic meats, which can add to their corporate responsibility by leading into more environmentally friendly way of producing meat.

I choose this article because it is nice to see meat companies shift their focus on the emphasizes on the meat that they make instead of packaging it. As someone who buys freshly cut meat, it does make a difference when you see the person who is cutting your meat and that you are able to see what is in it based on the ingredients. Furthermore, knowing what you are putting into your body is a testament to the company’s standards in that they care about what they are giving to their customers.

 
https://www.wsj.com/articles/fresh-deli-cuts-muscle-out-packaged-meats-11554055624