![MLA's general manager of international markets Andrew Cox at Beef Australia. Picture Shan Goodwin. MLA's general manager of international markets Andrew Cox at Beef Australia. Picture Shan Goodwin.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/38U3JBx5nNussShT8aZyYjc/6b8a1338-7620-4034-9a10-125115547f39.JPG/r80_533_4760_3733_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Everyone in beef lives by the mantra the customer is king.
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But consumers are difficult. What on earth do they want now and will they pay a premium for it?
The latest trends driving consumer purchasing behavior around red meat was unpacked at a seminar hosted by Meat & Livestock Australia at Beef 2024 in Rockhampton, featuring experienced meat marketers, producers, processors and even a social media influencer.
![Panelists in an MLA-hosted seminar on the beef consumer MLA's Andrew Cox, CPC's Troy Setter, Greenham's Peter Greenham, MDH's Julie McDonald, Four Daughters' Karen Penfold, Hewit's Elissa Garling, Andy Cooks' Andy Hearnden and NH Foods' Andrew McDonald. Picture Shan Goodwin.
Panelists in an MLA-hosted seminar on the beef consumer MLA's Andrew Cox, CPC's Troy Setter, Greenham's Peter Greenham, MDH's Julie McDonald, Four Daughters' Karen Penfold, Hewit's Elissa Garling, Andy Cooks' Andy Hearnden and NH Foods' Andrew McDonald. Picture Shan Goodwin.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/38U3JBx5nNussShT8aZyYjc/4c54360e-bcd0-43b2-bbd0-2e365f3a9c99.JPG/r0_307_5693_3680_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
MLA's general manager of international markets Andrew Cox said consumers were indeed irrational.
"How do you explain the health-conscious consumer who orders a skinny latte and organic kale salad before a pilates class only to go out with some friends later for a blow-out dinner that finishes with a kebab and hot chips?" he said.
However, it was possible to measure mass consumer trends and the overall factors that drive food demand were largely the same as they were a hundred years ago, he said.
Number one is enjoyment - people demand flavour, taste and tenderness.
In this space, there had been an explosion in consumer willingness to pay for better quality, Mr Cox said.
"Think of the humble sausage - 20 years ago you had two choices - thin and thick. Now there is an array of gourmet flavours, sizes and options that are much more expensive," he said.
"In developing overseas markets, premiumisation is driving modernisation of retail away from wet markets towards a supermarket experience."
Also high on the consumer want list is convenience - easy to find, easy to buy and easy to cook.
"This area is fast changing with digitisation, home delivery and online retail," Mr Cox said.
Nutrition is a key trend. People generally want healthy food, especially for their kids.
"The long running anti-fat trend is faltering as people wise up to what has actually made people more unhealthy," Mr Cox said.
"As a result, they are cutting down on carbs rather than healthy proteins and the role of real food is increasingly being communicated by influencers.
"Meat snacks are one of the fastest-growing categories in retail. The importance of quality protein to mood, metabolic health hormone health is increasingly being understood."
Integrity is another important trait on the want list.
"This is food safety fundamentally but also now it is animal welfare and environmental sustainability," Mr Cox said.
Director of sales and marketing and corporate affairs at NH Foods Andrew McDonald said fresh United States retail surveys showed 50 per cent of consumers either somewhat or often look at sustainability when making a purchase decision.
As many as 15pc put themselves in the high area of sustainability focus.
"Baby boomers have been one of biggest supporters of beef but we are seeing changes in expectations with the newer generations coming through," Mr McDonald said.
"Only 7pc of baby boomers care about sustainability in a high fashion but 25pc of Gen z were rating it high.
"Over the next five to 10 years, these people will be the ones who will be driving our commercial outcomes so they can't be ignored."
Fellow panelists Julie McDonald, from the large-scale family-owned Queensland beef operation MDH and chief executive officer of Consolidated Pastoral Company Troy Setter said animal welfare was a given, not an opportunity for a premium.
"Reporting on animal welfare for internal and external purposes makes good sense," Ms McDonald said.
MDH made it a priority to bring people onto stations to show what they were doing and to travel overseas to meet customers, she said.
Finally, culture and status plays a role in beef purchase decisions, Mr Cox said.
"People tend to cook food that their parents and their communities eat, but this extends to wanting to consume something that gives them social kudos," he said.