The ongoing boom in meat sales has many success stories, but perhaps none are shining brighter than lamb. In fact, lamb sales dollars outgrew the meat case by 98%1 -- nearly double the rate of the overall category. After nearly two-years of pandemic-influenced buying habits and trial of new cuts and varieties, long-term consumer demand for lamb appears to be locking in.
For retailers, this makes for a "can't miss" opportunity to improve the productivity of the meat case.
How to get a "leg up" with lamb
Lamb appeals to high-value, big-basket shoppers with upside potential. It starts with quality and flavor, and a good eating experience that leads to return purchase. Attributes like pasture-raised, antibiotic-free, and no-added-hormones have broad appeal, and move the needle even more for these shoppers.
Successful retailers source product that ticks these boxes and more to maximize the lamb opportunity. Look for traceability, shelf life, and of course consistent eating quality. A strong, multi-dimensional sustainability profile helps with merchandising, and lets you feature the benefits that appeal most to your shopper, from animal welfare to antibiotic-free.
Three Easy Steps to Growing Your Sales with Lamb:
- Bring it Forward. Many meat sections lag behind consumer demand for higher quality, sustainable offerings like pasture-raised lamb. Step one is to add assortment and make it easy to find.
- Focus on the Fundamentals. Activate the built-in drivers for lamb sales by emphasizing taste, variety, and sustainability.
- Sell with Story. Showcase recipes in-store and online that help maximize the appeal to today's "protein" shopper. Lamb's appeal is rooted in its value as an "upgrade" on everyday meat in flavor, restaurant-grade quality and variety.
Pasture-raised lamb from Australia brings all these advantages to the meat case, with the added value of consistent supply and volume, and a seriously strong sustainability story. Aussie lamb producers are already climate-neutral, and stepping up to do even more as part of the climate solution.
True Aussie Beef & Lamb (the global brand for Meat & Livestock Australia) represents the Australian beef and lamb industry globally, and aims to educate and inspire home cooks and food enthusiasts on the USA's number one source of high quality, all-natural and sustainable lamb and grassfed beef. And yes, that is Australian lamb and grassfed beef! Australian meats are readily available to retailers nationwide, and we stand ready to add value with shopper insights, marketing promotions and pilot tests. Drop us a line at [email protected].
- IRI, Integrated Fresh, MULO, 52 Weeks Ending 10/03/2021