The 17th annual Power of Meat report reveals nearly all American households (98.5 percent) purchase meat, a trend supported by an increase in volume sales up 3.9 percent for all meat compared to pre-pandemic levels. Nearly three in four Americans (74 percent) describe themselves as a meat eater.
This increase is due, in part, to several grocery shopper trends resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, including increased home cooking, record-high online shopping, and a shift to digital sources for recipe inspiration.
"The Power of Meat shows Americans continue to count on meat's taste, quality, convenience, and value throughout another unusual and challenging year," said Julie Anna Potts, president and CEO of the Meat Institute, in a statement. "The Meat Institute and partners in the Protein PACT for the People, Animals and Climate of Tomorrow will continue to deliver information and innovation for the 98.5 percent of American households that purchase meat, continuously working to support healthy families, healthy communities, healthy animals, and a healthy planet."
The report found the following:
• Meat department visits declined slightly this year (50.4 visits per shopper per year), but shoppers spent a little more during each trip.
• In response to higher prices and inflation pressures, shoppers are eating out and ordering in from foodservice less often, while trying to recreate restaurant experiences at home instead, and have adjusted retail meat purchase habits.
• Volume remains significantly above pre-pandemic levels for fresh (up 3.7 percent since 2019) and prepared meats (up 4.3 percent since 2019). Fresh beef volume increased nearly 5 percent since 2019, bacon 7 percent, and fresh lamb sales increased nearly 20 percent.
• Americans are eating 80 percent of meals at home (down from 88 percent at the pandemic peak in April 2020), and 57 percent prepare four to seven dinners per week with meat.
• More than half of meat shoppers (51 percent) say websites, apps, and social media are their top resources for meat preparation advice. Of those who search online for meat cooking tips and ideas, 72 percent use Google or another search engine and 57 percent use YouTube.
• Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok are particularly popular with Generation Z and millennials—used by around half of shoppers in those generations for discovering meat preparation inspiration.
The Power of Meat study was conducted by 210 Analytics on behalf of FMI—The Food Industry Association and the Meat Institute's Foundation for Meat and Poultry Research and Education.
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