Consumer Beef Index provides years of insights

by John Lundeen, Senior Executive Director, Market Research – NCBA

Introduction

The Consumer Beef Index (CBI) was established in early 2007 to track perceptions about beef, to provide a mechanism for determining which issues were increasing or decreasing in importance, and to spotlight key consumption trends. In July 2011 the 10th wave of this study was conducted, identifying key shifts in consumer reactions observed since the use of this tool was inaugurated.

Background

The CBI is an online semi-annual study of 1000 consumers between the ages of 14 and 65, balanced demographically to meet national norms for age, gender, geography, income and other key demographic variables. A very small minority of consumers with absolutely no food decision making authority, either at-home or in restaurants, are excluded.

Because the survey has been conducted twice a year since 2007, there is a wealth of data showing consumer trends regarding beef, including perceptions of taste, enjoyment, nutrition, safety and beef production as well as comparisons with chicken on a wide range of attributes.

Discussion

Eight key historical insights

1. 1. Perceptions of beef’s positives versus negatives: A key overall satisfaction question developed at the initiation of the CBI asks consumers if the positives of beef strongly or somewhat outweigh the negatives, or whether the negatives strongly or somewhat outweigh the positives. A review of the results (Figure 1) shows a strengthening in the percent of consumers who are responding affirmatively to this question (buckets 1 and 2). In 2011, on an annualized basis (average of both surveys), the percentage of consumers in bucket 1 (positives strongly outweigh negatives) is 28.5 percent. The Beef Industry Long Range Plan goal is to increase the bucket 1 percentage to 31 percent by 2013.

   Figure 1

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2. Taste, price, safety, nutrition and consistency: Note that 34 demand variables are tracked in the CBI. When asked what is most important in choosing a main dish for dinner, consumers rank taste first.

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   Price and safety have jockeyed over the years for the number 2 and 3 spots on this list. Nutrition and consistency are other top ranking items. The consumer is constantly becoming more demanding, with these variables becoming important to a higher percentage of consumers over time. The beef industry has been performing well on these top ranking variables, with ongoing improvement in the percentage of consumers who agree that beef is performing well on these same key demand drivers. Other data corroborate these findings. When consumers who are eating more beef are asked why, taste is the primary reason given.
3. Overall incidence of beef consumption: Even with a slightly growing percentage of consumers reporting eating beef at least monthly (94%), and a relatively constant 48 percent of consumers reporting consumption of beef at least twice per week, the average weekly frequency of beef consumption has dropped from 2.7 in 2007 to 2.3 in 2011. Deeper evaluations of the data indicate the loss of about one meal every two weeks among beef’s best consumers (bucket 1 and 2 noted previously). The data strongly suggest that the recession (see point 4) and lingering nutritional concerns about beef relative to other protein choices have been the strongest factors driving this decline.

   Figure 3

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4. Planned beef usage: In July 2009 a watershed moment occurred when, for the first time, the CBI showed the percent of consumers who stated they planned to eat more beef in the next 6 months exceeded the percent of consumers who said they would eat less beef (Figure 3). Other trackers in the market research archives asked a similar question in the early 2000s and, at that point in time, nearly three times as many consumers stated an intention to eat less beef than those who said they would be eating more.
5. Beef perceptions relative to chicken: Although beef continues to score higher than chicken on taste, chicken has maintained leadership over beef on a range of nutritional, every day usage, convenience and value variables. Thus, even though beef has shown improving nutritional scores and protein as a driver for consumers in choosing a dinner, health-motivated consumers still see a need to shift to perceived healthier proteins. 
   
   

   Figure 4: Beef/Chicken Superiority

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6. Impact of the recession: Consumers continue to report a range of frugal behaviors relative to beef consumption. By a two-to-one margin, more consumers report cutting back beef in foodservice. Both at home and in restaurants, consumers are rationing dollars by looking for deals, by trading down to lower priced beef options, including hamburger, or by using other beef “stretching” behaviors.
7. Key issues awareness: The percent of consumers who say they have heard or read a problem or concern with beef has moderated downward. In February 2008, more than 75 percent of consumers had heard of, or were aware of, a problem or concern with beef. By July 2011, only 37 percent of consumers noted hearing a negative story, with no dominant theme to that news.

   Figure 5

     
8. Industry image: Two questions were added to the CBI study in July of 2011 to begin tracking consumer perceptions of beef production and the farmers and ranchers who raise beef. Attitudes toward ranchers and farmers tend to be positive, with three times as many consumers having positive attitudes versus unfavorable attitudes (42% versus 14%). Attitudes towards “how cattle are raised” are not as positive (34% versus 23%). It will be important to watch these new measurements over time. Recent consumer research shows they are hearing and seeing some anti-beef rhetoric, and it will be important to see if this negatively affects industry impressions.

   Figure 6

Conclusions

Most consumer perceptions about beef are positive and are improving over time. This speaks well to potential future demand. Overall consumers are feeling good about beef. One troubling trend that emerged is the reduced weekly frequency of eating beef. If beef loses one night on the dinner table, it is an expensive proposition to win back that meal. Therefore, an important mission for the beef industry will continue to be demand building efforts with consumers.