Beef edges in on lucrative US college market

The burger-hungry US is the world's second largest importer of beef after China and its grinding beef orders have been a mainstay for Australia's processing and exporting sector for decades.

But new opportunities are also emerging.

Strategic marketing agency Midan reports 40 per cent of US consumers now look for beef that is natural, with no added hormones or antibiotics.

Meat & Livestock Australia's North America business development manager Sabina Kindler, based in Washington, says that is largely being driven by younger consumers, especially Gen Z, along with higher income households and those who live in urban areas.

Growing the grassfed category was a very big opportunity for Australian beef at the moment, particularly from a value perspective, she said.

The grassfed claim can carry a decent premium.

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Combined with the expected much stronger market for grainfed beef caused by the beef shortage in the US, that potential to capitalise on Australia's sustainability story has MLA's marketers embarking on some new and innovative ventures.

Ms Kindler's team has been working with the University of Massachusetts Amherst to get Aussie beef and lamb on the dining hall menus that serve a massive 50,000 meals a day to students, staff and the surrounding community.

UMass Amherst has been named number one for best campus food in the prestigious Princeton Review for the past six years.

"It is a facility very interested in the transparency of where food comes from and sustainable farming practices," Ms Kindler said.

MLA hosted UMass' culinary director Ken Toong in Australia for a supply chain tour, which sparked his love for Australian red meat, and the relationship has been fostered from there.

UMass has now transitioned all its red meat purchases to Australian product.

It is served up in everything from lamb meatballs and toasted picanha to Korean Galbi Jjim, braised lamb ragu, chipotle beef chalupas and toothpick lamb cumin.

But it's the carving station roasts which get the longest queues, Ms Kindler reported.

"UMass research shows that dining habits in college carry over later in life, therefore educating students on the variety of meals red meat can provide has so much value for our industry," she said.

"Dining halls at US colleges are a pimped up food court - any cuisine you can imagine is on offer.

"Diners can also pull their own ingredients together for a stir fry and salad.

"Taste is critical - they get student feedback on a daily basis - but so is the nutritional value and the sustainability story."

One of the best aspects is UMass is a customer that utilises secondary and primal cuts.

MLA is now working on replicating what has been achieved at UMass across other colleges.

At the same time, it will launch a campaign around Earth Day on April 22 promoting Australian red meat's sustainability credentials.

Ms Kindler said while existing customers in the US were familiar with the Australian beef industry target to be carbon neutral by 2030, known as CN30, the next step was spreading that message to the wider community.

Further, US marketers have this year run eight Aussie Meat Academies, which aim to increase the awareness of food service operators of ways red meat can be used in menus.